Fatherhood
by MercenaryGrax
Summary: The night before Naruto leaves on his training trip, Sakura drops by his apartment with an unexpected confession. Years later, when he returns to the village, he learns that Sakura has given birth to twins. What will happen as Naruto tries to get used to the idea of fatherhood?
1. Challenge Guidelines

Okay, I have decided to take up one of my challenges for this fic. The challenge is as follows:

_A week before Naruto leaves with Jiraiya on his training trip, Sakura appears on Naruto's doorstep and asks to speak with him. During this conversation, she reveals that she has gradually begun to develop feelings for Naruto. At this point, the author is free to work out how the conversation plays out and what is said. At some point, they end up sharing a kiss and as one thing leads to another, they end up naked in bed together making love for the first time._

_Throughout the rest of the week, Sakura avoids Naruto, even on the very day he's supposed to leave. The author is free to come up with a reason for this. Whether she feels ashamed or is just too embarrassed, or even if she's just too afraid she'll try to keep Naruto from leaving...it's all up to you as the author of the story. Anyways, when Naruto finally returns to Konoha and sees Sakura for the first time, he also sees her with twin children at her side. After a conversation with her, he learns that these children are his. From here on, it is entirely up to the author to determine how things play out. Will Sakura forego her feelings for Naruto and try to force him to keep his promise made? Or will Naruto and Sakura get together and raise their children together? The important thing is that Naruto gets to share custody of his children with Sakura, or, if Sakura doesn't want them, Naruto gets to raise them himself._

_I leave it up to the author on if they would like it to be a Naruto x Sakura pairing as the challenge so indicates, or if Sakura's merely meant to be the 'baby maker'...so to speak. I would prefer that this fic not turn into a harem. Conflict is ALWAYS welcome, and a little drama here and there is always fun. Please try to keep any Sakura bashing to a MINIMUM. Finally, if he is not paired with Sakura, I'm honestly curious to see who Naruto will get to help raise his children and become his wife. Good luck and have fun with this one!_

As you can see, I left it open (mostly) for the author to do as they wanted with the fic. So feel free to take up this challenge if you want. Or you can take a look at all the other challenges on my profile and see if you like any of 'em enough to give them a try! :)


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N - Alrighty, here's chapter one of a brand new story based on a challenge I have up on my profile. I chose three of my challenges that I would take on and write, so I hope you're looking forward to reading this and the other two that are to come soon.**

**Anyways, I have decided to make this a Naruto x Sakura fic, just fair warning. I highly doubt I'll turn this into a harem story, as I said that I'd prefer not to see this turn into a harem in the challenge. Sooo...yeah. Welcome to my attempt at writing a single pairing fic. Yay! Good luck to me. lol**

**There are two lemons in this first chapter. The first one is kind of important, so it's really up to you if you want to skip it, but I hope you read it. The second one is just the two of them making love after Naruto's return to the village.**

**Anywho, I can't think of much else to say, so enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**WARNING! There are two lemons in this chapter! Don't like, don't read.**

**Chapter 1 - A Night of Passion**

It was the night before Naruto was to leave on his three year training trip with Jiraiya, the Toad Sage. He was currently packing his things in preparation for the journey tomorrow. However, before he could finish packing, he heard a knock on his door.

Walking to the door, the 14 year-old blonde opened it slowly and rubbed at his eyes a little tiredly. Upon seeing who was standing on his doorstep, however, his eyes shot wide open and he instantly felt re-energized. "Sakura-chan! Hiya. What're you doing here?"

The pinkette was having a hard time looking her teammate in the eyes for a reason unknown to Naruto. "Is something wrong Sakura-chan? You seem kind of nervous."

Sighing softly, Sakura looked up into her friend's eyes and asked, "Can I please come in Naruto-kun? We need to talk."

Nodding slowly, Naruto let her in and shut the door behind her. Walking over to his couch, Naruto sat down and motioned for Sakura to take a seat in his chair. However, when she sat down next to him and took his hand, he became a blushing, stuttering mess. "S-Sakura-chan? Are you okay? You're acting kind of funny."

"Naruto-kun...when I saw you in the hospital after your fight with Sasuke...it hurt a lot. I asked you to bring him back to me without thinking about how you felt, and I can only imagine what you had to go through." Looking into Naruto's eyes at this point, Naruto could see that she had tears in her eyes. "I know that you probably held back when fighting him so that you wouldn't seriously hurt him. You're an idiot to have done that. You should have fought with all you had. Then maybe...maybe you wouldn't have been left in such terrible shape."

When Naruto went to speak, Sakura punched him in the arm and said, "Don't talk. Just let me get everything off my chest, okay Naruto-kun?" Seeing him nod in understanding, Sakura smiled at him. "I was so scared you were going to die when you were brought back in the condition you were in. I...I was by your bedside the entire time, just crying over you. But...it allowed me the time I needed to think about everything."

Sighing again, the pinkette looked into his eyes again and wiped at her eyes to rid them of their tears. "Naruto-kun, I realized something while waiting on you to wake up. I don't love Sasuke. I never really did. It was just a stupid crush on a selfish, spoiled jerk. But...as I spent time with you and we really got to know each other...I gradually started falling in love with _you_, Naruto-kun. I...I want to be with _you_."

Naruto blushed badly and his mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to think of something to say. After finally regaining his cool, the blonde said, "Sakura-chan...I've always loved you. I still do. I'm dearly in love with you, but…"

"I know. I was always so mean to you and never stopped to consider how you really felt. The fact that you still love me, even after everything I've done to you, means a _lot_ to me. Naruto-kun...I love you so much it hurts. I...I…"

As Sakura began to shed tears, Naruto wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Gently running his fingers through her hair, he tilted her head up with his other hand and smiled sweetly at her. "Sakura-chan, it's okay. You don't have to say anymore." he said before he claimed her lips with his.

Sakura's face went red and she stopped crying. Looking into Naruto's eyes, she felt like she was on Cloud Nine as she began to kiss him back. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she slowly maneuvered herself so she was sitting on his lap. When they parted, she smiled seductively at him before kissing him hungrily.

Naruto was blushing badly as he slowly lowered his hands until they were gripping Sakura's wonderful butt. It was one of her best features and he couldn't help but massage it while they kissed. When she moaned, he knew he was doing something right.

Face still flushed, Sakura whispered into his ear, "Take me to your room. Make love to me. I want something special to remember you by while you're gone."

When Naruto stood up with Sakura in his arms, she wrapped her legs around his waist and giggled happily as he carried her to his room. As he laid her down on the bed, she yanked him down on top of her and began kissing him hard enough to drain him of his breath.

**Lemon Begins! (Up to you if you want to read it!)**

Slowly, Naruto and Sakura helped each other out of their clothes, tossing them to the floor. Naruto could see how wet she already was, and he realized that he was leaking precum from how horny he already was. This woman turned him on so much and this was a special act that they would soon be enjoying.

When Naruto began to nibble on and suck on her nipples, Sakura threw her head back and moaned. It was even better when he slid two fingers into her dripping pussy and began to thrust them back and forth inside of her. "Oh Kami yes! Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun!" she screamed in pleasure.

After she came on Naruto's fingers, she panted for breath for a moment before she flipped him over and slid down his body before taking his cock into her mouth. Running her tongue along its length, she bobbed up and down quickly on his cock, the tip of it hitting the back of her throat. Reaching up a hand, she began to fondle his balls in an attempt to bring him more pleasure. When he cried out that he was cumming, Sakura sped up how quickly she was bobbing on his dick before he eventually unloaded in her mouth, his cum painting the back of her throat white.

Removing her mouth from his cock once he had finished cumming, Sakura slowly swallowed his cum before straddling him again. Slowly, ever so slowly, she guided her lover's cock into her waiting pussy. When his dick hit the wall that was her hymen, she took a deep breath before raising herself up and then slamming down on his cock until he was fully sheathed inside of her.

Collapsing forward onto Naruto's chest, her B-cup breasts pressing against his chest, she struggled to fight off tears. She was a little surprised when Naruto tilted her head up and kissed her passionately. "Sakura-chan, just take your time. I promise I won't move until you feel comfortable enough to continue."

Sakura smiled at him and kissed him once more while she began to slowly grind her hips against his. As she slowly got used to Naruto's large cock inside of her, she sat back up and put her hands on his chest as she began to slowly lift herself up and then slam down on his cock again and again. When she finally got used to the feel of his cock, she nodded at her lover and said, "You can move now."

Naruto nodded and reached up to begin fondling her small breasts. As he began to match her movements to the best of his ability, thrusting up into her in rhythm with her movements, he moaned out loud. When Sakura began to moan louder and louder, Naruto knew that she was enjoying his ministrations on her breasts. He would have sat up and wrapped his arms around her, but with her hands on his chest, keeping him down, he contented himself with rubbing her breasts and making love to her.

After a short while, Sakura sped up until she was practically bouncing on his cock. "Nnn. Oh Naruto-kun! I'm...I'm going to cum! I'm...I'm cumming! Oh Kami, I'm cummiiiiing!" she screamed.

When Sakura came, Naruto grunted and warned her that he was about to cum. "S-Sakura-chan...I need to pull out."

Shaking her head, Sakura leaned down and pressed her lips to his in a passionate kiss. Squirming a bit on his lap, grinding her hips against his again, she whispered in his ear, "No Naru-kun. Cum inside me. I want your seed in me."

Blushing badly, Naruto wrapped his arms around her and continued thrusting up into her until he finally came and gave her what she desired: his cum. When he finally stopped, they kissed each other again before he asked, "S-Sakura-chan? Are you absolutely sure about this? What if you get pregnant?"

Smirking down at him, she spun around on his cock until she was facing away from him. Slowly, she began to slide up and down on his cock again. "I _want_ to get pregnant Naru-kun. I want to have something special to remember you by. And I want you to remember this night with me so you don't think about being with anyone else while you're gone. So shut up and fuck me!" she exclaimed before she began to moan loudly again.

Smiling at this, Naruto reached out and gripped her ass tight as he began thrusting up into her _hard_. As she screamed out his name, he began to feel even better. "Yes! Oh Sakura-chan, yes! I love you! I love you so much!"

As the sound of flesh slapping against flesh echoed throughout the apartment, Sakura couldn't help but feel giddy as can be. _I can't believe we're finally making love. This feels like a dream come true!_ She thought to herself happily.

After a few more minutes, Sakura's pussy clamped down on her lover's dick and she came again, screaming out in pleasure loud enough to wake up the whole neighborhood.

Naruto grunted at how tight she became, but he continued to thrust up into her until he came as well, spraying her womb full of his cum. "Oh Kami Sakura-chan, you are so damn tight." he groaned out.

When Sakura went to say something in response, she squeaked as he sat up and forced her onto her hands and knees. Slowly, ever so slowly, he began rubbing his dick against her vaginal folds. When she went to scream at him to stop teasing her, he buried himself completely inside of her, causing her to let out a long, _loud_ moan of pleasure. "Ohhh yes. Fuck me Naru-kun! Fuck me good!"

The whiskered teen was more than happy to comply as he began thrusting into her hard. It was at a slow pace at first, causing her to let out a long, drawn out moan. When he picked up the pace and began slamming into her nearly as fast as he could, Sakura's arms gave out and she laid there face pressed against the bed as she cried out in pleasure. "Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes! Ohhhh fuck Naru-kun! Oh Kami! I love you! I love you so much!" she screamed out as she started cumming all over his dick once again.

Grunting from the exertion, Naruto soon buried himself deep inside of her and began cumming again. As her walls were painted white, Naruto soon pulled out and collapsed backwards on his bed. This was the most exhausted he had ever been, and yet his dick was still rock hard.

Seeing this, Sakura smirked and grabbed it tight. "Oh Naru-kun, who said I was done? I want you to fuck me all night long. I _want_ to have your children. So I'm not letting you get any rest tonight." she said as she slowly slipped his cock back inside of her. "Yeeeessssss!"

_Oh Kami! She's insatiable! Oh Kami, I don't care! This is _amazing_!_ Naruto thought to himself as he resumed making love to his pink-haired lover.

**Lemon Ends (Safe to read again!)**

_**The Next Morning**_

As Sakura had wanted, the two of them spent almost the entire night making love. At least until the two of them couldn't do it anymore and fell asleep together, Sakura cuddling against him.

Naruto had woken up a short while ago and groaned as last night's events replayed themselves in his mind. He was tired, oh so tired, and he was _sore_. Slowly, Naruto stood up out of bed and looked down at his bed. _My bedding is going to need to be washed for sure when I get back._ He thought with a chuckle.

Looking at his pink-haired lover, Naruto reached out and gently brushed his fingers through her hair. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to her forehead and whispered to her, "I told you before that I thought your forehead was kissable. I think it's one of your most attractive features."

Sakura smiled happily at that before opening one of her eyes and looking at him. "That day...was that you disguised as Sasuke? Because he said the exact same thing to me. I know Sasuke would never have said anything like that, but I had hoped at the time. If it was really you though, then you are the sweetest man alive." she said happily.

Naruto blushed and nodded slowly. "Yes, that was me. I was really stupid then, thinking I could get your attention if I was disguised as Sasuke. But...it didn't feel right in the end to do that as Sasuke. I wanted you to kiss me because it's what _you_ wanted to do. And now? Now I'm happier than I've ever been before. You mean the world to me, and now there's a chance that you're pregnant with my child. I love you to death and I wish I could be here to help raise our children, if you are pregnant, but…"

"I know sweetheart." Sakura said. "I know. You have to leave. You're going to return to me stronger than ever. Just make sure that old pervert trains you right. Don't let him ignore you like Kakashi-sensei did. I want you to be able to defend yourself against anyone that might want to hurt you. You're going to be a father after all, and I don't want our children to lose their father."

Blushing deeply, Naruto leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips again. "I love you sweetheart." he said before he went to the bathroom to take a shower and clean up. However, as he climbed under the water and began to wash himself, he soon felt breasts pressing into his back, as well as soft, butterfly kisses being placed along his neck.

Shivering from her ministrations, Naruto soon turned around and grinned at her. "You're feeling frisky this morning Sakura-chan."

Sakura leaned in and kissed his lips passionately. "Make love to me again. I want to remember the feeling of your cock inside me for these next three years. I don't ever want to forget it." she said with a wide smile. Needless to say, Naruto was more than happy to comply.

_**Gates of Konoha - Two Hours Later**_

When Naruto finally arrived at the gates of Konoha, he looked like he was walking on Cloud Nine. Jiraiya couldn't help but quirk a brow at this and asked jokingly, "Well someone looks happy. What, did you get laid kid?" When his apprentice blushed deeply and couldn't look him in the eyes, the Toad Sannin's eyes widened and he shouted out, "Holy crap! You _did_! I'm going to need details. My next book depends on it!"

Naruto sighed and punched Jiraiya _hard_ in the dick, causing him to screech out before collapsing onto his knees. "Low blow. Not fair." he moaned as he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Sighing again, Naruto began walking away from the village. "Come on Pervy Sage. Let's get going already!"

Instantly springing back up, as if nothing had happened, Jiraiya easily caught up to Naruto and smirked down at him. "Will you at least tell me who popped your cherry?"

The whiskered blonde sighed yet again and shook his head in disappointment. "You're not going to leave me alone until I tell you, are you Pervert?"

"Nope! And stop calling me that all the time! Now tell me!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

Palming his face as he let out a groan, Naruto shook his head again and said, "It...was Sakura-chan. Alright? You happy now?"

Jiraiya's eyes widened and he clapped Naruto on the back. "Finally bagged your lady love, huh? I'm proud of you Naruto! How was it?"

Naruto grumbled. "I'm not talking to you about my sex life Jiraiya. What happened between the two of us will _stay_ between the two of us."

"No fair! Think about how great my next book would be Naruto! C'moooon!" Jiraiya pleaded.

Naruto just groaned and palmed his face again. _This is going to be a _looong_ three years._

_**Konoha - Sakura**_

Sakura was with Ino, giggling happily as they walked along. Ino, finally having enough of it, stopped her friend and looked into her eyes. "Okay, spill it. What's got you so happy Forehead?"

Looking into her friend's eyes, Sakura couldn't wipe the smile off her face. "I confessed to Naruto-kun and...and…" Blushing badly, she began poking her fingers together like Hinata usually did. "We made love. All night long. And then twice in the shower this morning. It felt _sooo_ good."

Blushing _badly_ at what she just heard, Ino found one thing odd. "Naruto? I thought you were in love with Sasuke-kun?"

Shaking her head in the negative, Sakura said, "I thought I was too for a while. However, I realized it was just a stupid crush on a major jerk. Naruto on the other hand? What I have with him is real, Ino-pig. And...I let him cum inside." she said quietly to her friend.

Ino's eyes went wide and she nearly yelled at her friend as she said, "What?! But what if you get pregnant? Are you really ready for that kind of responsibility? Especially now, considering Naruto's going to be gone for three years!"

"Shhh!" Sakura shushed her friend. "Yes, I am. And I _want_ to have his kids. If I didn't, I would have told him to pull out. Oh Kami it felt so _goood_." she said giddily.

Blushing again, Ino pulled Sakura along and looked around for someplace they could chat in peace. Finding a restaurant with an outdoor patio, she walked there and asked to be seated on the patio, which was vacant of people. Once they were seated, Ino leaned closer to Sakura and asked, "So what was it like? I want details Forehead!"

Sakura giggled happily and nodded slowly. "Well…"

_**6 Weeks Later**_

Sakura groaned in agony as she entered the Hokage's office to speak with Tsunade. "Hello Tsunade-shishou. I'm...urp…" Covering her mouth, Sakura quickly looked around for a wastebasket before rushing over to it and vomiting into it. "Oh Kami!" she cried out before vomiting again. "I didn't think it would be so bad!"

Tsunade blinked as she watched her apprentice upchuck in her trash bin. "Sakura-chan? If you're this sick, why did you come in? You're free to take the day off, you know? I'd understand."

The pinkette shook her head and looked into her master's eyes. "Be-because Tsunade-shishou. I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant. I'd like...oh Kami…" turning away from her master, she began vomiting into the waste bin again.

The blonde's eyes went wide and she quickly hurried to Sakura's side. "Hold still Sakura-chan. I'm going to give you a scan just to be sure." she said as she used a diagnostic medical technique to examine Sakura's body. When she finished her scan, her eyes went wide as she looked into Sakura's eyes. "You're pregnant. With twins." she said.

Sakura's eyes lit up and she cheered. "Yes! Oh, I'm so happy!"

Tsunade looked at her apprentice a bit unsurely. "Sakura-chan? Who's the father? It's not that Sasuke kid, is it? I didn't think you would have done such a thing before he turned traitor on us."

The emerald-eyed teen shook her head no. "Hell no! Sasuke isn't getting _any_ of this!" she said, moving her hand up and down her body. "I confessed to Naruto-kun and we made love the night before he left. It felt _soooo_ good too! And before you ask, I told him to cum inside. I want to give birth to his children. I know he'll be gone for three years, but I don't care. I wanted to share something special with him and have something I could remember him by while he's gone. And I wanted _him_ to remember what it felt like to be with me so he wouldn't even _think_ about getting with another woman while he's gone." she said with a grin.

Quirking an eyebrow at this, Tsunade couldn't help but smile. "I see. So you finally decided to give Naruto a chance, huh? I'm glad. But aren't you a little young to have children?"

Sakura shook her head again. "I don't care. This is what I want and I'm going to give birth to these kids and raise them. When Naruto returns, I hope to introduce him to his children. And...if I'm lucky, he'll ask me to marry him! Ooooh, I'd love that so much!" she exclaimed giddily.

Chuckling a bit, Tsunade nodded and helped her apprentice up. "Well, we'll take it easy on your lessons while you're pregnant. I won't put you through anything too strenuous and I won't subject you to any of my usual torture. We're going to take things easy and focus on teaching you the medical side of being a combat medic. Understood?"

"Understood Tsunade-shishou! Sorry to screw up your plans like this, but…" Sakura said, sounding like it was a bit awkward to say.

"It's fine Sakura-chan. So long as you're happy with your decision, I won't complain. Now, let's go. It's time to head to the hospital for your lesson." the Godaime Hokage said as she began leading Sakura out of the Hokage tower and to the hospital.

_**3 years later**_

"Mama? When Dada get here?" a young girl's voice could be heard asking her mother. This little girl had blonde hair, four whisker marks (two on each cheek), and emerald green eyes. Currently her hair was done up in pigtails and she was tugging on her mother's cheongsam style dress.

The girl's mother, a beautiful pink-haired woman with emerald green eyes, smoothed out her dress and smiled down at her daughter. "Daddy will be here soon Yuri-chan. Just wait patiently a little while longer."

"That Dada?" a young boy asked as he pointed into the distance at a couple of tall individuals making their way towards them. This boy had dull pink hair and the same emerald eyes as his mother. And just like his sister, he had four whisker marks, two on each cheek.

Looking down at her two year-old son, Sakura smiled and nodded her head. "The one with the blonde hair is your father. I'm sure you'll love him Ichiro. You too Yuri."

Off in the distance, Jiraiya smirked down at his apprentice. "Well lookie here, your little girlfriend's there waiting for you. And...are those _kids_? Holy fuck! They're _your_ kids! You never told me you knocked her up! The hell Naruto?!"

Naruto scowled at Jiraiya and slugged him in the side. "Yes, they're my kids. And I didn't tell you because you'd give me no end of grief over it. Sakura and I are in love and we wanted to start a family together. I don't see anything wrong with that." he said grumpily.

Nodding slowly, Jiraiya rubbed his side and released a tired sigh. "I hope you know what you're getting into Naruto. Kids are a big deal."

Sighing, the whiskered blonde nodded slowly before walking up to his pink-haired girlfriend and hugging her close. "I missed you Sakura-chan." he said as Jiraiya went about signing them in at the guard station. "I hope you got my letters. I tried to write you as often as I could."

Sakura smiled and kissed Naruto passionately before resting her forehead against his. "I did. I was so happy whenever I got a letter from you. I wrote you back, but I didn't know if any of my letters reached you." she said. "And...I missed you too sweetheart. But I had a few special somethings to help keep you in my heart." she said as she looked down at the bundles of joy at her feet. "Naruto, meet your twin children. Our son is named Ichiro and our daughter is named Yuri. Right now they've taken my family's name, Haruno, but…" Blushing deeply, Sakura leaned closer and whispered into her lover's ear. "When we get married, we'll take your name Naruto-kun."

Blushing deeply, Naruto hugged her tight and kissed her passionately once again. When they separated, Naruto knelt down and smiled at his children. "Ichiro-kun, Yuri-chan, it's really great to finally meet you. I'm your daddy."

"Dada!" they both exclaimed before jumping on him and hugging him tight. "Dada Dada Dada!" they continued saying, giggling all the while.

Naruto smiled and hugged them close. "We've just met and already my love for you two is boundless. I just want to hold you forever." he said, giggling along with them. "You're both such cute children."

Sakura smiled and helped pry their children off of their father. Grabbing his hand and wrapping it around her waist, the pinkette rested her head on his shoulder. "I've missed you so much Naruto-kun. I love you very, very much. And…" turning her head, Sakura whispered in his ear. "I can't wait until we get some alone time together. You have nooo idea how long I've been waiting to feel you inside me again."

Blushing badly, Naruto slowly nodded his head before whispering back. "I've thought about that night we shared so often on my trip. You have no idea how bad I want you right now."

The pinkette blushed and captured her lover's lips again. "We should probably get going Naru-kun. Tsunade-shishou's expecting us."

"She's right you know. It's not smart to keep Tsunade-hime waiting too long. You can catch up with each other later." Looking down at the children, Jiraiya bent down with a grin and asked, "Which one of you wants to ride on Grandpa Jiraiya's shoulder?"

Ichiro bounced up and down and said, "Up! Up up!"

Chuckling a bit, Jiraiya picked Ichiro up and put him on his shoulder before he began walking with him towards the Hokage tower.

Smiling at the scene, Naruto looked down at his daughter and took her hand in his. "Think you can keep up with Daddy, Yuri-chan?" he asked as he began walking forward with his daughter.

As she walked along, her stubby little legs carrying her, Yuri couldn't help but smile brightly. "Yay for Dada!" she exclaimed happily as she swung her arm, her father matching her movement as he swung his arm back and forth with her.

As they walked along, Naruto couldn't help but notice that people were talking about him and his family. They were scowling at him and he couldn't help but worry about what might happen to his family now that he was back. _I swear to Kami that if they try to hurt my kids, I'll kill them._

Sensing his worry, Sakura said, "Naruto-kun, it'll be okay. It's pretty obvious that they're your children based on the whisker marks. Nobody has tried to harm them yet. But…"

Sighing, Naruto nodded his head in understanding. "They're being treated like monsters and parents are trying to keep their children away from them both. Am I right?"

Sakura nodded slowly. "Yes. I'm worried about what their time in the academy will be like when they're old enough to enter the academy. If things don't improve, then they'll be outcasts amongst their peers."

Naruto looked down at his daughter and sighed sadly. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan. I...should have said something before."

Shaking her head, Sakura kissed his cheek and offered him a warm smile. "Don't apologize Naruto-kun. You've done nothing wrong. And I told you before, I _wanted_ this. I still want this. We'll raise our kids right and, if they're like you, they'll find a way to make friends. So don't worry too much, okay sweetheart?"

Smiling at his lover, Naruto nodded slowly. "Alright honey. I'll try to look on the bright side of things." he said as a small smile formed on his face. "I love you."

"And I love you." Sakura replied as she nuzzled her head into his neck.

_**Hokage's Office**_

As they entered Tsunade's office, Naruto couldn't help but smile at her. "Hello Tsunade-sama." he said respectfully. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too Naruto-kun. How have you been?" she asked.

"Well…" Naruto looked at Jiraiya and shook his head before looking back at Tsunade. "You know how it is being around Pervy Sage. Imagine that for _three years_. And it was a pain trying to get him to train me in something _other_ than 'the basics' and in using the Kyuubi's chakra." he said with a sigh. "I know I've gotten stronger though, but I just wish it wasn't so difficult to get him to focus on actually training me."

Tsunade and Sakura both glared at Jiraiya for this. "Damnit Jiraiya! You were supposed to be serious about his training! Not ditching him to go peep on women! What the hell's the matter with you?!" Tsunade shouted at him.

The white-haired Sannin scowled at Naruto before looking at Tsunade. "It's not my fault that he's a bad student! He should have been able to get what I was trying to teach him easily, but he just...ugh! Minato was so much easier to work with." he griped.

Naruto scowled at Jiraiya and shook his head in disgust. "Let me guess. You took a hands-off approach with the Yondaime as well, didn't you? Well I'm not him Jiraiya. I expected you to be serious in training me, but you were a pain in the ass the entire time. I would have learned more by staying here in the village than traveling with you. Then again, I wouldn't have been able to get Kakashi to teach me anything either, knowing him. I would have had to seek help from people like Guy and Asuma. But at least _they_ would have been serious in training me."

Before Jiraiya could say anything, Sakura took Ichiro from him and then proceeded to punch Jiraiya as hard as she could in the stomach, sending him crashing through the window. She watched as he sailed off into the distance with a pleasant smile on her face. "Hopefully that'll teach him to take things more seriously from now on. My Naru-kun's life is on the line here and he pulls that crap? It's like he doesn't care about what happens to Naru-kun!"

Tsunade sighed and nodded her head. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun. If I had known he wasn't going to take training you seriously, I would have instructed other shinobi to teach you."

Naruto shook his head and offered Tsunade a smile. "It wasn't _all_ a waste. I learned some fuinjutsu from his book of seals and I also learned some kenjutsu as well." he said as he took the sword off his back and showed it to them. "I've reinforced my sword with seals to do a variety of things. I've got seals on here to increase its durability to ensure it won't break. I've also used seals to increase its cutting power. I can use it to cut through solid rock if I choose to. Then there's seals on here that I can activate to encase my sword in wind or fire." he explained before slipping his sword back into its sheath.

"Because Jiraiya wasn't taking my training all that seriously, I asked the toads to help me out. I learned Sage Mode and the Frog Kata taijutsu style from them. They also helped me with my fuinjutsu studies."

"I see. Well at least the toads took your training seriously. It sounds like you've improved quite a bit Naruto-kun." Tsunade said. "How do you two feel about the idea of working with Kakashi again?"

Naruto looked at his girlfriend and they both frowned as they thought about the idea of working with Kakashi again. Sakura looked at her master and said, "I don't mind, so long as he takes us seriously. I mean, we could always use more guidance and it would be nice to know he'll be serious."

The whiskered blonde looked at his mother figure and sighed before shrugging his shoulders. "I'm alright with it. As Sakura-chan said, I could use some more guidance. I don't know my chakra nature yet, and I know the Rasengan is incomplete. If I can learn what my chakra nature is, I can work on improving my Rasengan. So if he promises to help me with that at the very least, I'll be fine working with him again."

"You hear that Kakashi?" Tsunade asked as she looked out the window. "I'll re-establish Team Kakashi, but I expect you to be serious this time Kakashi. Is that understood?"

Kakashi climbed in through the broken window and eye smiled. "Understood Hokage-sama. Now, when do we have the test?" he questioned.

Sakura and Naruto looked confused for a moment before Tsunade decided to explain. "A test of your abilities and your ability to work together is in order. We'll be holding it tomorrow morning. That will give these two the time to get moved into their new home and allow them some time to just be together before they have to get right back into the swing of things."

Naruto blinked at something she said and asked, "New home? What do you mean Tsunade-sama?"

The Godaime Hokage smiled at Naruto and reached into her desk before pulling out two scrolls and a couple of letters before placing them on her desk. "Naruto-kun, there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time now. I had hoped Jiraiya would have told you, but I should have known I couldn't count on him to do so." Sighing and shaking her head in disappointment, Tsunade soon continued. "Naruto-kun, you are the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. And before you ask, yes, your own father, the Yondaime Hokage, sealed the Kyuubi into you. I'm really sorry Naruto-kun."

Naruto scowled and clenched his fists tight as he thought about what he had just heard. _I swear to Kami, if you were still alive, I'd slug you Dad._ "What about my mother? Did she want to seal the Kyuubi into me too?"

Kakashi decided to answer this time. "No Naruto-kun. Kushina-sama would never have wanted that for you. Sensei...he wanted you to be seen as a hero for keeping the Kyuubi at bay all this time. But, as you know, the villagers only saw you as the beast and not as the hero you should have been treated like."

Tsunade spoke up at this point. "Your parents loved you very much Naruto-kun. It's just a shame they didn't live to raise you themselves." she said sadly. "But they did leave you these. These scrolls contain your inheritance from the both of them, and they also left these letters for you. As for the new home I mentioned, it belonged to your parents. I'll take you there as soon as we're done here."

"Naruto-kun, you and your children are the last of the Uzumaki clan in Konoha." she said, catching him by surprise. "I know, you didn't know that you belonged to a clan. It's just another thing Sensei and Jiraiya _should_ have told you, but they didn't. Your clan was renowned for their prowess in fuinjutsu. They also had the gift of longevity and large chakra reserves. On top of that, an Uzumaki is the only one that can hold the Kyuubi."

Sakura frowned as she thought of something. "You're not going to put him in the CRA, are you Tsunade-shishou?"

The busty Godaime Hokage smiled at her apprentice and shook her head. "No. You two belong together and I don't want anyone trying to come between you two. If you two are happy together, that's what matters to me."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Sakura smiled happily at her master. "Thank you Tsunade-shishou. I just don't know if I have it in me to share him with anyone. I want him to be mine and mine alone." she admitted before she returned to Naruto's side and kissed him sweetly on the lips. "I love my big, handsome Naru-kun." she said, giggling afterwards.

Naruto blushed and hugged her close. "And I love you Sakura-chan." he said. Looking at Tsunade, he asked, "So, can you show us to our new home? I'm eager to see what it's like."

Nodding her head, Tsunade rose from her chair and approached the two of them. "Sure thing. Let's go you two. Kakashi, I expect you to be at the Third Training Ground at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning. If you're late, I'll make sure you're chasing Tora _by yourself_ every day for a month. Do you understand me?"

Gulping, Kakashi nodded slowly. "Of course Hokage-sama. I understand perfectly."

"Good. You're dismissed. Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan, let's go." Tsunade said before leaving her office.

Looking at their children, Naruto and Sakura took their children by the hands and began walking with them after Tsunade.

_**Uzumaki Estate**_

As they arrived at the small compound in the clan district that housed their new home, the family of four was shocked by the size of their new home. "I see you like your new home. Wait until you see the inside." Tsunade said with a grin as she motioned to the gate. "Naruto, if you'll please spread some of your blood over the seal?"

Nodding slowly, the 17 year-old blonde bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood and smeared it along the seal on the front gate. After the gate opened, the group of five walked in and sealed the gate behind them to prevent anyone else from getting in. After all, none of them trusted the villagers to leave Naruto's new home alone.

Upon entering the large house, Naruto and Sakura's mouths dropped slightly. The inside of the house was beautiful and it was fully furnished as well from the looks of it. Naturally they would need to get some basic groceries to stock the pantry, the fridge, and the freezer as well.

They would have let their children's hands go so they could go explore to their heart's content, but seeing as they were still young, they needed to keep a close eye on them. So, walking around, they checked out the bedrooms and couldn't help but smirk when they saw the master bedroom. _Oh we are _definitely_ going to make good use of that bed._ They both thought as one.

Tsunade, seeing their matching smirks, could only sigh. "If you two are going to do that, make sure you activate the silencing seals so that your children don't hear you."

Blushing badly, Naruto and Sakura both nodded in response. "Right. Thanks for the reminder Tsunade-sama." Naruto said.

Once they had finished exploring the house, they all convened in the living room. The happy couple sat on a couch with their children in their laps. Tsunade took a chair and sighed happily from how comfortable it felt. "I'm going to have to come here more often. It's cozy." she said.

Naruto chuckled a bit and nodded his head. "You're more than welcome to stop by whenever you want Tsunade-sama. We'd be glad to have you here."

Sakura nodded in agreement, but she had to add a stipulation. "However, try not to visit too late at night. You never know what we'll be up to." she said with a giggle.

"Noted. I'd rather not catch you two in the middle of _that_, thank you very much." Tsunade said with a sweatdrop. "Anyways, I'll get someone to bring you some groceries. So be expecting a team to come by with what you need. For now, I'll leave you and your children to yourselves. I expect you two to be on time to your test tomorrow morning. Remember, it's at 8:00 AM at your usual training ground."

"We'll be there on time, I promise." Sakura said with her fingers crossed behind her back. _Not. I'm planning to have a fun night with Naru-kun. We're going to need to sleep in for a while. Sorry Tsunade-shishou._

Tsunade looked into her apprentice's eyes and sighed. "You're not going to be on time are you?" When Sakura simply smiled at her, the Godaime Hokage nodded her head in defeat. "Fine. I suppose Kakashi deserves a taste of his own medicine once in a while. But no later than 9:00 AM! Got it?!"

Naruto nodded his head. "Got it Tsunade-sama. We'll _try_ to be there by 8:00 AM, but if we can't make it on time, we'll be there by 9:00, I promise."

"Good. Now, I'll see myself out. You two just enjoy this time with your children. Okay?" Tsunade said before she got up and left their house.

Now that they were alone, Naruto looked at his beautiful girlfriend and found himself blushing. Reaching up, he rubbed the back of his head and offered her an awkward smile. "Sakura-chan…?"

Looking into Naruto's eyes, Sakura could see that he looked nervous about something. "Naruto-kun? What's wrong?"

Blushing worse, Naruto took one of her hands in his and rubbed the back of it with his thumb. "I...wanted to ask you something. I…" Gulping, Naruto closed his eyes and began to breathe in and out slowly in order to steady his nerves. Slowly reaching inside his tracksuit, he soon pulled out a small box.

Seeing this, the pinkette's eyes widened considerably as she realized what Naruto was about to ask her. Grinning happily, she practically bounced in place as she waited for her boyfriend to ask the all important question.

"Sakura-chan, you were all I could think about while I was gone. I wanted dearly to just return to you and show you the time of your life. To prove that a relationship with me was worth it. While on the trip...I came to a very important decision." Slowly opening the box to reveal a gorgeous engagement ring. "Sakura-chan, will you make me the happiest man alive by becoming my wife?"

Eyes watering, Sakura nodded her head. "Yes! Yes yes yes! A thousand times yes! Of course I'll marry you Naruto-kun! I _dreamed_ about marrying you while you were gone! I want us to be together forever!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around her new fiance and kissed him lovingly. When they parted, she allowed Naruto to slide the ring onto her finger. "It's so beautiful." she said in awe.

"I'm glad you like it. And thank you for saying yes." Naruto said as he kissed her again. "You're the only woman I'll ever love Sakura-chan. I was so scared you'd say no. You have no idea."

Giggling a bit, Sakura nuzzled her nose against his and smiled happily. "I'm just so happy you asked. I had hoped you would."

Before Naruto could reply, Ichiro began tugging on his father's shirt. "Dada? Hungry."

Yuri nodded her head in agreement with that. "Mama? Food now?" she asked.

The two parents smiled down at their children and nodded in understanding. "Of course. Sakura-chan, you know them best, what kinds of food do they like to eat? Is there a restaurant in the village you'd prefer to take them for dinner?" he asked, as it _was_ turning into the evening hours, so dinner was only appropriate.

"Well, Ichiro-kun loves his fruits and cereal. He enjoys foods like pizza and chicken as well. Yuri-chan on the other hand really enjoys her fruits and vegetables, foods like takoyaki and ramen, and more." she explained. "Yuri-chan _definitely_ takes after you when it comes to ramen. If she could have it for every meal, she'd be happy as can be."

Naruto chuckled and shook his head. "Wow. Sorry Sakura-chan. I have to admit that I'm a little glad at least one of our children takes after me in some aspects. What about Ichiro-kun? How does he feel about ramen?"

Sakura sweatdropped at this and looked at their son. "The only kind of ramen he likes is pork. But he doesn't have the same kind of appetite for ramen that you and Yuri-chan do. He does rather enjoy Ramen Ichiraku though. If we get ramen there, he'll eat at _least_ three bowls each time. The most he's ever eaten is six bowls. Yuri-chan though? She can put away a dozen bowls sometimes if I let her."

"Wow. She really _does_ take after me in that regard, doesn't she?" Naruto asked with wide, astonished eyes. "And you Ichiro-kun," he said, looking at his son, "it's okay if you don't enjoy ramen as much as your daddy and sister do. Daddy would never be disappointed in you for something like that."

Ichiro simply giggled at that and nodded his head happily, not quite understanding just yet what his father was saying. "Dada! Dada, me want eat now!"

Naruto chuckled and looked at his fiance. "I suppose we'd better go out and find someplace good to eat at, huh sweetheart?"

Sakura giggled as well and nodded her head. "Come on Naru-kun. I know the perfect place. I'm sure you'll love it Naru-kun." she said before standing up from the couch. Taking her daughter's hand, she smiled at her future husband and helped him up. "Let's go honey." she said as she took his hand and guided his arm around her waist. "I love you sweetheart."

_**Later that Night**_

Naruto and Sakura couldn't help but sigh in exasperation. The owner of the restaurant they had gone to had tried to prevent Naruto from entering the establishment, but when Sakura threatened to report him to the Hokage, he quickly changed his mind and was on his best behavior since then. They had also made sure to double check their food to make sure it hadn't been messed with in some way, and once they were satisfied that everything was fine, they ate their meals in peace.

Of course, the other patrons there weren't too happy about Naruto's presence either, but nobody said anything. When they left, however, they bumped into a drunkard who tried to take a swing at Naruto. Before Naruto could do anything, Sakura punched the guy in the face and sent him flying down the street before he fell in a heap on the ground. Naruto couldn't help but admire his fiance for her immense strength and hoped that he never did anything to piss her off.

Now that they were home, they couldn't help but smile at their tired children. "Mama? Sleep now." Yuri said as she rubbed at her tired eyes with one hand.

Sakura smiled at her children and said, "Let's get you two to bed. You've stayed up past your bedtime as it is already."

Naruto smiled and lifted Ichiro into his arms while Sakura did the same with Yuri. Walking upstairs, they put their children in their rooms and tucked them in before kissing their foreheads. "Good night Ichiro-kun./Good night Yuri-chan." Naruto and Sakura said to their children before turning off the lights in their rooms and shutting their bedroom doors.

Now that their children were sleeping, Naruto and Sakura wanted to spend some 'alone time' together, but they soon remembered that Tsunade was going to send a team over with groceries. So, heading downstairs, they decided to wait patiently for the team to arrive.

When a chime sounded throughout the room, they figured that must be the signal that somebody was at the front gate. Leaving the house, they saw a familiar team waiting at the gate. _Oh boy. It just had to be _her_, didn't it?_ Sakura thought as she laid eyes on Hinata.

Approaching Team Kurenai, they opened the gate and smiled at their friends. "Hi guys. I didn't know Tsunade-sama would make you do this. Sorry about that. Thank you for picking up our groceries for us." Naruto said.

Hinata shot a glare at Sakura before smiling sweetly at Naruto. "You're welcome Naruto-kun. Do you mind if we help you put away your groceries? I...we haven't seen you in a while, so it would be nice to catch up."

Before Naruto could reply, Sakura said, "No thank you. We can handle it. Thanks again for bringing us our groceries. You're free to go now."

Kiba and Shino _wisely_ chose to remain out of it, as this was _definitely_ a territorial thing between the two girls with Naruto as the 'property'. So, handing Naruto and Sakura their bags, Kiba and Shino bid them a good night before walking away.

Hinata frowned deeply and said, "Shouldn't this decision be made by the two of you? I really wouldn't mind helping you to put the groceries away. Besides, I'm Naruto-kun's friend. Shouldn't we be allowed to catch up _Sakura_?"

Sakura clenched her fist tight at her side, trying _very_ hard not to slug Hinata. Before she could say or do anything however, Naruto offered her a smile and said, "It's okay Hinata. We can catch up another time. Right now we're tired and need to be getting to bed. Thank you for delivering our groceries." he said, taking the remaining bags from the Hyuga heiress.

Sakura couldn't help but sigh in relief before turning to her fiance and kissing his cheek, causing him to blush slightly. Hinata leveled a fierce glare on her though, but rather than say anything, the pinkette stuck her tongue out at Hinata, causing the Hyuga heiress to fume even more.

"I see. Alright then Naruto-kun. We'll see each other later though, right?" she questioned hopefully.

Naruto, deciding to be kind, nodded his head in the affirmative. "Of course. Have a good night Hinata."

Once Hinata had left, Naruto let out a sigh before he summoned a clone to seal the gate again. Walking inside with his lady love, the two of them began to put away all their groceries, starting with the frozen goods. As they did this, Sakura turned to her fiance and asked, "Could she _be_ anymore obvious? Are you sure you want to see her again sweetie?"

Naruto chuckled dryly before shrugging his shoulders. "It's obvious you two had a falling out of some kind. How long have things been like that between you two?" he questioned.

Sakura sighed. "She figured out whose kids I was pregnant with once I started showing. It's like she had some kind of sixth sense for it or something. She's been holding a grudge against me ever since then. She isn't mean to our children or anything like that, but she _loathes_ me. And it's all because she couldn't act on her feelings for you before I snagged you."

Sighing as well, Naruto clapped his hands after putting the last of the groceries away. "Sorry you've had to deal with that Sakura-chan. I don't care how long she's had feelings for me. My heart has always belonged to you."

Blushing, Sakura nodded meekly before she wrapped her arms around her beloved. "You're so sweet Naru-kun." Leaning in close, she whispered in his ear, "I want you so bad right now. Let's go to our room."

Blushing deeply, Naruto lifted Sakura into his arms, causing her to squeal in delight before he carried her upstairs to their room. Shutting the door behind them, Naruto carried his bride to be over to their king-sized bed and laid her down on it gently. Before doing anything else, he activated the room's silencing seals. Once that had been done, he crawled on top of his beloved and began kissing her passionately.

**Lemon Begins! (Skip if you want)**

Not wanting to take it slow, Sakura began to help Naruto out of his clothes. Once he was in the nude, she flipped them over so she was on top of him this time. Removing her own clothes, she leaned down and pressed her high B-cup breasts against his chest while kissing him passionately again. "No foreplay this time sweetheart. I need you inside me _now_." she said as she began rubbing her pussy along his length without taking it inside of her right away.

After a moment, Naruto flipped Sakura over and began rubbing the tip of his cock against her opening. Taking a breath, the whiskered teen slowly slid his cock inside of her until he was fully sheathed inside of her. Both of them let out moans at the pleasant feeling before Sakura wrapped her legs around his waist and grinned at him. "Make love to me darling."

Kissing each other again, Naruto began thrusting back and forth inside of her as an average pace. After a few moments of this though, they both wanted more and he began to thrust hard into her, making her moan out louder than before. "Oh Kami yes! I've missed this feeling. Fuck me good Naru-kun!"

"As you wish my love." Naruto said as he picked up the pace and began really hammering her. The faster and the harder he went, the more and louder Sakura moaned. Eventually she began shouting out his name from the pleasure she felt. Throwing her arms around his neck, she pressed herself against him and captured his lips with hers in a long, loving kiss. This kept up until they both came together, his semen entering her womb just as it had when she first got pregnant with their kids.

"Mmm, Sakura-chan. Sorry." he said guiltily.

"Don't apologize. I want all your cum, so give it to me baby." Sakura said as she rolled over so she was laying on her front. Wiggling her ass at him, she said, "Come and get me big boy."

Grinning down at her, he laid down on top of her and slid his cock back into her waiting pussy once again. Reaching around her, he began fondling her breasts gently. After a brief moment, he began tweaking her nipples, causing a jolt of pleasure to shoot through her body. This action caused her to cum again and she went limp in his arms. "Oh Kami! Yes! Just like that Naru-kun!"

As he picked up the pace again, Sakura couldn't help but moan loudly. She was so wet and it just felt so damn good inside of her that Naruto couldn't help but groan out in pleasure as well. "Sakura-chan, I'm cumming again. You're sure you want it inside?"

"Yes! I want all of your cum inside me! So don't pull out Naru-kun. Just give it to me!" she shouted.

"As you wish my dear." he said before giving a few more powerful thrusts and came inside of her, filling her womb a bit more. Once he finished, he leaned back and helped her up so she was sitting in his lap, his cock sliding inside of her once again.

Moaning at the feeling of fullness that she felt, Sakura began grinding her hips while leaning back against her husband-to-be. "Oh Naru-kun, I've missed you so much. I love you more than you could ever know."

Gripping Sakura's waist, he began to help her up and down on his cock slowly. As they got into a good pace, he began thrusting into her harder, causing her to moan loudly again.

Leaning back, Sakura wrapped her arms around her lover's neck and began riding him as hard and as fast as she could, screaming out in pleasure as his cock kept kissing her womb with every thrust. "Yes yes yesssss! More! Oh Kami MORE!"

As they made love, Naruto began to nibble on her neck. After a moment though, he gave her a hickey before whispering in her ear, "You are so beautiful Sakura-chan. And you're so damn sexy too. You turn me on so much."

Eventually they both came again. However, rather than pull out and relax, Naruto laid back and pulled Sakura down on top of him, her back still pressing against his chest. Without warning, he began thrusting into her again, earning a pleasurable moan from his pink-haired lover. Reaching around her, he began gently fondling her breasts again.

"Mmm. Naru-kun. Oh Naru-kun. I'll never tire of this." she said in a husky voice as she leaned back and kissed him on the cheek. "Promise me that you'll be mine forever? I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you."

Grunting from exertion, Naruto continued pounding into her, the sounds of her moans stirring him on even further. "Nngh...oh Kami! Sakura-chan, I'll _always_ be yours. I promise you, you're stuck with me forever. Now _scream_ for me my sexy Sakura-chan." he whispered in her ear before he began nibbling on her neck, sending a pleasant tingle through her body.

"Oh Kami Naru-kun! Yes. Yes! Naruto-kun! Oh Naruto-kuuuun!" she screamed out as she came again. When she felt her lover releasing inside of her again, she breathed a happy sigh and just settled herself against her hubby-to-be. "C'mon honey, I want more. I want to go all night long. We can just sleep in for a while tomorrow, can't we?"

Chuckling a bit, Naruto gave his wife-to-be a kiss on the lips before saying, "As milady wishes, so shall it be. But you need to remember, we have to be there by 9:00. We can't sleep in _too_ late."

Squealing happily, Sakura flipped herself over so she was facing her lover. "I don't care. I've waited too long for this. I'm not quitting until we're too exhausted to move anymore." she said as she leaned in and kissed her hubby-to-be on the lips again as she slowly inserted Naruto's penis inside of her again. "Yesssssss." she moaned out happily.

_Oh Kami. She really _does_ want to go all night. Sorry Tsunade-sama, but I don't know if we'll be making it on time._ He thought to himself as he and Sakura continued making love.

**Lemon Ends (Safe to read again)**

_**The Next Morning - 10:00 AM**_

When Naruto and Sakura finally arrived at the Third Training Ground the next morning, they were both sore. Naruto had both kids on his shoulders and was holding them steady while they hollered in joy.

Despite how nice this scene was, Tsunade was scowling at the two of them. "What did I say yesterday? Be here by at _least_ 9:00 AM. You're late!"

Naruto and Sakura couldn't help but blush and look away from her. "Sorry Tsunade-shishou, I kind of...got carried away last night. And this morning. Oh Kami it was _wonderful_!" she exclaimed giddily.

Kakashi quirked a brow before he began giggling perversely. _I see. So _that's_ why they're late. I can forgive that then._ He thought to himself. "Hokage-sama, it's okay. I don't mind. They were 'catching up' with each other, after all."

Tsunade sighed and nodded her head. "Fine then. Just don't make a habit out of this you two. Got it?"

The happy couple both nodded instantly before Naruto jumped when Sakura grabbed his ass. Looking at her, he couldn't help but blush at the grin on her face. "Really? You haven't had enough yet?"

Giggling, Sakura would have said something, but Tsunade walked up and conked both parents on the head. "Enough of that! Haven't you two 'played around' enough? Kami above, I swear you're like a couple of horny teen-" Pausing, Tsunade looked at the two of them and sighed when they simply grinned at her. "You _are_ a couple of horny teenagers. Ugh. Just give me your kids and get on with your damn test already. I'm already exhausted and I'm not even the one testing you two."

Smiling at this, Naruto set his children on the ground and gave them a little shove towards Tsunade. "Go on Ichiro-kun, Yuri-chan, go to Grandma Tsunade. She'll look after you while Daddy and Mommy beat up their team leader. Make sure to cheer us on, okay?"

"Dada! Mama! Do good." Ichiro said as he clung to Tsunade's hand.

"Beat One-Eye!" Yuri exclaimed as she bounced in place next to Tsunade.

As Kakashi sweatdropped at the nickname given to him by the young girl, Naruto and Sakura couldn't help but snicker. "Alright, enough of that. Let's get this started. Hokage-sama, when you're ready?"

Tsunade nodded once and waited for Naruto and Sakura to take their places. Once everyone was prepared, the Hokage shouted out, "Begin!"

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**A/N - And that's the chapter! I do hope you enjoyed it.**

**As you can see, I decided to give them twins: a boy and a girl. And just in case you ask, I named them BEFORE I looked up what their chosen names meant. Ichiro means First Son apparently and Yuri means Lily. So I figured they were pretty good names for their children.**

**Anyways, there are two more challenge fics on the way, based on two more challenges on my profile. I would really appreciate it if you would take a look at my profile and examine the challenges listed there. If you find any of them interesting and want to take them on, please feel free to. Just let me know so I can read your fic when you begin! lol**

**Anywho, that's all I can think of to say. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Fatherhood!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N - Okey dokey, been a while since I did anything with this story. Sooo...here ya go! Chapter 2 of Fatherhood!**

**There's no lemons or anything in this chapter. Just a bunch of actiony stuff and a cute scene or two. Some parts of this chapter I don't feel are very good, buuut...I was having some problems trying to get this chapter started. *shrugs* So yeaaaah.**

**Anyways, not sure what else to say, sooo...enjoy the chapter!**

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**Chapter 2 - Saving the Kazekage**

Naruto smirked as he looked at Kakashi. Glancing at his fiance, he said, "You know, I've been meaning to get some payback for all of his neglect when we had Sasuke with us. How about you, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura, seeing where he was going with this, nodded her head and grinned evilly. "Oh yes. I think Kakashi-sensei needs to be..._punished_. Let's have some fun Sweetheart."

Looking at them cautiously, especially now that they had made clear their intent to brutally maim him, the silver-haired Jonin held up a couple of bells. "Your test is simple. Take these bells from me. See? Simple. Now let's begin."

The duo watched as Kakashi flashed through hand seals, not wanting to take any chances with these two. When he began to spit numerous fireballs their way, Naruto nodded at Sakura and watched as she punched the ground hard enough that a veritable wall of earth shot up in front of them, blocking the fireballs from reaching them. On top of that, this had the effect of throwing Kakashi off balance long enough for Naruto to slip behind him.

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder as he tried to regain his balance. When he saw Naruto rushing him with a Rasengan in hand, Kakashi waited for him to get close before using the Replacement Technique to replace himself with a log in the nearby forested area.

What he didn't expect was for Sakura to suddenly descend upon him, aiming a punch right for the small of his back. Quickly leaping forward to evade her attack, he ended up right in Naruto's path. When he landed a fierce punch to Kakashi's stomach, the silver-haired Jonin grunted from the pain before he quickly defended himself from any further attacks by the blonde Genin.

When Naruto grinned, Kakashi knew something was wrong. Attempting to evade another attack aimed at him from behind, he found that he suddenly couldn't move. Looking down at his wrist, he saw that somehow, Naruto had managed to attach ninja wire to his wrist and linked it to his own wrist, binding the two males together. "Sorry Kakashi-sensei, but you let your guard down. Time to pay the price."

Kakashi watched as, at the very last second, Naruto replaced himself with a log so he wouldn't suffer damage from his fiance's attack. Wincing in anticipation, Kakashi screamed out in pain as he was punched into the ground _hard_. He could feel his body protesting when he attempted to push himself to his feet, but he couldn't let the two of them beat him so easily.

Sadly for him, he soon heard the jingle of bells and, when he looked up, saw Naruto and Sakura each holding a bell. "Sorry, but you lose this time, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said with a grin on her face.

Kakashi sighed as he turned his gaze to Naruto. "How, exactly, did you snag the bells from me, Naruto?"

Naruto shrugged and said, "I left a bunch of Shadow Clones here last night. They transformed into various objects and laid in wait for any opportunity to snag the bells from ya. Either that or land some vicious sneak attacks for the hell of it." After letting that information sink in, Naruto smirked and said, "While you were distracted, one of my Shadow Clones snagged the bells and gave them to us. Kind of a simple trick, but if it works, it works."

Frowning at this, Kakashi stared into the blonde's eyes curiously. "How could your Shadow Clones have lasted this long? If you sent them here last night, shouldn't they have dispelled by now?"

The blue-eyed teen shook his head and grinned. "The Toads helped with my chakra control quite a bit. Maximum effort for minimal chakra expenditure. Only in this case, I gave each of them enough chakra to last for an entire day if need be. You're just lucky I didn't feel the need to enter Sage Mode. Then you'd really be in trouble."

The cycloptic Jonin nodded in understanding. "I see. So, was your being tardy part of the plan too?"

Sakura smiled goofily and shook her head. "Nope. That was just us 'catching up'." she said, giggling perversely.

Kakashi sweatdropped, but nodded in understanding. "Just don't make it a habit, alright?"

Before either of them could respond, Ichiro glomped his father while Yuri hugged onto her mother. "Yay Dada! Yay Mama!"

Tsunade approached and shook her head in disappointment. "You were distracted, weren't you Kakashi?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Not really. I should've just taken them a bit more seriously though."

"Yes, well, I suppose they pass the test. From now on, Team Kakashi has officially been reinstated. For now, I want you to focus on rebuilding the teamwork between you three. It's been quite some time since you were all together, so you're bound to be a bit rusty. This means you'll focus primarily on D-rank missions for the time being until you're up to snuff."

Looking at Naruto, Tsunade offered him a smile and said, "If you prove yourself in your future missions, I might just promote you to the rank of Chunin. So do your best, okay Naruto?"

Nodding in understanding, Naruto soon felt tugging on his pants leg. Looking down, he saw Yuri standing there with her arms outstretched. "Up, up!"

Chuckling softly, Naruto lifted Yuri into his arms and lifted her up so she could sit on his shoulders. Using his hands to keep her in place, Naruto skipped around a bit, making her giggle happily. When he began to run in a circle, she shouted out, "Wheeeee!"

When Tsunade looked at him sternly, he blushed a bit in embarrassment before nodding his head in understanding again. "Of course Tsunade-sama. Sorry."

Tsunade sighed and shook her head. "Just so long as you understand. Go on and spend some time with your children, for now. They seem to want your attention right now."

Naruto and Sakura both nodded in understanding. However, when they heard a hawk overhead, they each looked up and frowned. "That can't be good." Naruto said.

The Fifth nodded in agreement. "Come with me. I need to see what this is about." And with that, everyone in the clearing quickly made their way to the Hokage tower. What they didn't realize is that there was a certain someone who had been watching them.

The person stepped out of the forested area and stared at the back of Naruto's head. _Naruto-kun…_ she thought to herself. _I swear I'll save you from that bitch._ Sure enough, this person was Hinata Hyuga, and her obsession with Naruto was soon going to push her in a horrible direction…

_**Hokage's Office**_

Reading the letter that had been sent via the messenger bird, Tsunade began to scowl. Slamming the letter down on her desk, Tsunade looked seriously at Team Kakashi. "Akatsuki has made their move. It would seem they're beginning to target the jinchuriki officially now. Gaara...has been taken. On top of that, his brother, Kankuro, has been poisoned and is slowly dying as a result. Team Kakashi, I know I said that you need to become a proper team again, but now just isn't the time. I'm sending you three to Suna to heal Kankuro and hopefully track the Akatsuki to wherever they took the Kazekage. I'll try to send a team to back you up as soon as possible."

Naruto was _not_ happy about this piece of news. However, at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder about something. "Tsunade-sama, what about our children?" he asked, referring to Sakura and himself. "Who will take care of them while we're gone?"

Sakura smiled at her hubby-to-be and squeezed his hand gently. "Tsunade-shishou and Shizune enjoy taking care of them. Ino's been a good babysitter as well. Believe it or not, even Shikamaru has babysat them before." Looking at Tsunade, Sakura asked, "Tsunade-shishou, can I ask you to watch them while we're gone?"

Tsunade smiled as she looked at the twins. "Of course, Sakura-chan. You should hurry and pack your things. You're going to need to be prepared to fight S-rank shinobi. According to Jiraiya and Naruto's personal experience, they travel in pairs. Good luck."

Team Kakashi each nodded to signify they understood. Looking at his teammates, Kakashi said, "We'll meet at the village gates. Pack what you need and make sure you hurry. The enemy has enough of a head start as it is." he said before leaving Tsunade's office.

Naruto looked at his children and knelt down, hugging the two of them close. Kissing the top of their heads, he looked them in the eyes and smiled at them. "Ichiro-kun, Yuri-chan, Daddy and Mommy have to go save a dear friend now. We're going to be leaving you with Grandma Tsunade, okay? Behave for her and be good, okay?"

Ichiro hugged his father back and asked, "Dada fight now?"

The whiskered blonde chuckled a bit and said, "Yes. Daddy's going to fight some really bad guys."

The young pink-haired boy smiled brightly and said, "Save friend now. Bye Daddy."

Looking at Yuri, Naruto gave her a gentle hug and said, "Daddy will see you both later. Love you."

The young blonde girl smiled at her father and said, "Bye-bye Dada! Do good!"

Sakura smiled at them before she hugged her children as well. "Like your father said, I want you two to be good for your Grandma Tsunade. Don't cause her any trouble like you did last time, okay?"

Naruto quirked a brow as he looked at Tsunade. "Don't ask, Naruto." she said.

Naruto nodded in understanding before he stood up again and looked at his bride-to-be. "We need to get going Sakura-chan."

Sakura nodded before she bid goodbye to her children and Tsunade. Taking her husband-to-be's hand, the two of them left the office to return to their shared home.

Once they were gone, Tsunade looked at Ichiro and Yuri with a frown. "Please behave this time. I don't want a repeat of what happened last time."

Ichiro began to waddle around the office before reaching for the wastebasket. Seeing this, Tsunade snatched it away from him and sighed. "You are _not_ dumping this out again."

The two children just giggled, sounding almost like they were planning to make her life a living hell. Hearing this sent a shiver down her spine. _Naruto...your kids take after you in more ways than you could ever imagine._

_**Village Gates**_

When Naruto and Sakura reached the gates, they saw Kakashi was already there waiting for them. Without needing to speak a word, the team of three set a quick pace as they began their trek towards Sunagakure.

It didn't take long before they spotted Temari walking down below them. Realizing that she probably didn't know about what had happened, Naruto called out to her before hopping down to the ground. "Temari! We've got some bad news. Gaara's been taken by the Akatsuki, and Kankuro's in critical condition. We're on our way to Suna now to help him and learn what we can about the ones that took Gaara."

Temari's eyes widened in horror and she nodded once in understanding. Together with Naruto, she jumped into the trees and the group of four continued on their way at a quickened pace. As they went, Temari looked at Naruto and said, "I figured you'd want to spend more time with your kids rather than go on a mission like this immediately after your return to the village."

Naruto shook his head and said, "While I'd love to spend more time with my children, Gaara's my best friend. I can't just leave him to die at the hands of the Akatsuki. As for Sakura-chan, she's studied under Tsunade-sama all this time, and from what she's told me, she's almost as skilled as Tsunade-sama herself. So if anyone can save your brother, I'm 100% certain she can."

"Well, regardless, I'm thankful to you, Naruto. It means a lot to me that you value your friendship with my brother as much as you do. I...know it can't be easy on you, considering what you hold."

The whiskered teen shook his head and offered her a smile. "I know I'm putting myself at risk by doing this, but I refuse to cower away when my fellow jinchuriki are in trouble. If it's at all possible, I want to save as many of them as I can. I'm afraid that most of the other villages aren't aware of the threat that Akatsuki poses. On top of that, I'm afraid that the other villages won't value their jinchuriki enough to fight for them…"

Sighing softly, Naruto looked forward again as they continued tree hopping towards the Land of Wind and Sunagakure. "If we jinchuriki weren't treated like weapons and monsters, it might be easier to keep us safe. But those in charge continue to treat us like monsters when they're the ones that created we jinchuriki in the first place. From what I understand, Iwa's jinchuriki aren't even allowed in the village, which leaves them far more vulnerable to an attack by the Akatsuki. Kumo's jinchuriki are valued as weapons, but not so much as people. The Hachibi jinchuriki is apparently the Raikage's brother, so I'm sure he's okay for the most part. It's the Nibi jinchuriki that I'm worried about. Kirigakure's jinchuriki though...the Sanbi jinchuriki is dead, which means the Sanbi is still in the process of reforming. As for the Rokubi, I have no idea where he is. But if the Akatsuki find him before we do, then he's as good as dead. Unfortunately."

Grumbling, Naruto palmed his face and said, "Gaara's the Kazekage, but the Akatsuki have proven that even then, there's no escape. The Nanabi jinchuriki is in Takigakure, and unfortunately she's not treated very well either. She's used more like a damn watchdog than a person. And finally...there's me. I'm an outcast in my own village, treated like a monster, and most of the people living there would rather give me up to the Akatsuki to save themselves than fight with me to take down whichever Akatsuki members choose to come after me."

Sakura hopped up next to her lover and grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently in support. "I'll fight as hard as I can to protect you, Naru-kun. I don't care how those idiots feel, you mean the world to me and there's no way in Hell I'll give you up without a fight. And...and if it means that much to you, I'll try to convince Tsunade-shishou to allow us to seek out the other jinchuriki. They need help…"

Temari frowned at this and placed a hand gently on his shoulder for a moment. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry you and your fellow jinchuriki are treated like that. You're right that the village's themselves create jinchuriki, and therefore they should be treated with far more respect than they've been treated. People can be so cruel. And now you and your fellow jinchuriki are in more danger than ever because the Akatsuki are on the move. I don't know what I can do to help, but you can always call on my brothers and me for help should you ever need it."

"Thanks you two. I appreciate it. For now, let's focus on getting to Suna so we can save Kankuro's life. I just hope we can find some way to track the bastards that took Gaara. What I want to know is how the hell they got into the village so easily and got to Gaara to begin with. Seems pretty suspicious to me…"

Kakashi frowned at this and said, "The Akatsuki probably had a spy within the village that acted to help whoever was sent to retrieve Gaara. If that's the case, then they could have spies in every village. It would be helpful if we could find the spies in Konoha so we could deal with them, but trying to figure out who might be a spy is a difficult process. So, unfortunately, you're always going to be in danger, Naruto-kun."

Naruto scowled at this, but nodded his head in understanding regardless. "I kind of expected as much anyways, Kakashi-sensei. It's really nothing new to me. I've been in danger since the moment I was born and it was made clear that I house the Kyuubi."

"True enough, Naruto. You deserved to live a better life than you have, but you've made the best of things. One example is the fact that you've built a family together with the one you love. Too many people never get the chance to do that." Kakashi replied.

The whiskered teen smiled at that and said, "Thank you. I plan to live a long life with my family. In order to do that, I need to take down the Akatsuki and anyone else that threatens my life with Sakura-chan and our kids. Once there's peace, I'll finally be able to rest with my family. I...I don't care if I even become Hokage anymore. I'm happy just being with my family."

His three companions looked at him in shock at this declaration. Sakura was the one to speak up first. "But...that's your dream, Naru-kun! Besides, I can't think of anyone more deserving of that position than you!"

Naruto shook his head and smiled at his fiance. "I didn't say that I didn't still want it, I'm just saying it's not as important as you and our children are. I'd love to be Hokage someday, believe me. But you mean far more to me than some stupid title."

Sakura blushed prettily and found herself unable to speak a word. Temari, on the other hand, smirked at the two of them. "You two really are good together. And you are a real sweetheart, Naruto. I can see why she fell for you."

Naruto blushed a bit, but nodded his head. "Thanks Temari. Oh! Looks like we're almost to the border. We should be able to make it to Sunagakure by the end of the day, I think. I'm hoping we'll be there sooner rather than later, though."

Temari nodded, but frowned to herself. "Let's just hope nothing delays us. It's hard to predict the weather in the desert sometimes. Anything can happen, and it can be a real pain to deal with sometimes."

Naruto looked at her with a deadpan expression and said, "You probably just jinxed us."

Temari chuckled nervously and said, "Sorry."

_**Sunagakure - Later that Night**_

As they entered the village of Sunagakure, Naruto grumbled and brushed sand from his clothes. "I feel like I've got sand in places it has no right being. I can't even figure out how it could have gotten to those places either."

Temari giggled nervously and said, "Sorry. I didn't know there'd be a sandstorm."

Kakashi shook his head. "It's fine. Sakura, go with Temari to the hospital. Do whatever you can to heal Kankuro. I would like to talk with him and see if he can give us any information at all on the Akatsuki members that took Gaara. Naruto, you're with me. We're going to look for any tracks that they might have left behind."

The three of them nodded before Naruto watched as Sakura rushed off with Temari. Once he was alone with Kakashi, the two of them began to search for any clues as to where the two Akatsuki members could have gone. What they found was disheartening. There were multiple tracks leading off in various directions. It was an obvious tactic to throw off pursuit, but it was certainly an effective one. Without any way to track them, their best bet was to hope that Kankuro had something that would help them.

When they reached the hospital, the two men were directed to where Kankuro and the girls were. Shortly after arriving, Kakashi was about to ask Naruto if he'd like anything to drink or if he wanted some kind of snack from one of the vending machines. However, they soon heard a shout of "White Fang! Today's the day you pay for what you've done!"

Kakashi looked behind him to see an old woman preparing to attack him. Quickly raising up his hands in a placating gesture, he said, "I'm afraid you've got the wrong man. My father was known as the White Fang, not me."

The woman paused and took a closer look at him. Suddenly she began chuckling to herself. "I see. I knew that."

Naruto sighed, but remained quiet as he waited to hear good news from his fiance. _Goodie. We've got a crazy old lady harassing us now. Yaaay!_

After a while, Sakura came out of the room and looked at the three of them. "He's stable. I've extracted the poison and I'm going to work on making as much antidote as I can. For now, he's awake and would like to speak with you two. I'll be back once I've made the antidote. Hopefully we won't need too much of it, but we'll see."

Kakashi nodded and said, "Good idea. Get to it, Sakura. Naruto, let's get in there and see what information Kankuro has for us."

Nodding in agreement, Naruto followed Kakashi into the room and looked at Kankuro. _Damn he looks different without all the make-up._ Was his first thought.

Kankuro, as if sensing Naruto's thoughts, suddenly shouted, "It's war paint damn it!"

Naruto blinked and said, "Um, okay. Whatever you say, Kankuro. We're not exactly here to argue about that. We'd like to know what you know about the Akatsuki duo that attacked your village and kidnapped Gaara. Any information at all would help."

Kankuro nodded in understanding before he asked for one of the nurses to get his belongings for him. Digging around in his clothes, he pulled out a scrap of cloth and held it out for Kakashi to take. "They were Deidara, a missing nin from Iwagakure. The other one is Sasori. He's this village's worst missing nin and he's a master puppeteer. He's the one that poisoned me. That cloth I just handed you is something I managed to get from Sasori's cloak. I hope you can use it to track them and save my brother."

Kakashi nodded and said, "Thank you, Kankuro. Using this, my ninken should be able to track them. And now that we know who our foes are, we should be able to come up with a workable strategy to combat them. You just rest up and feel better. Leave rescuing Gaara to us."

Chiyo, who had entered the room shortly after they did, said, "I'm going with you. Sasori is my responsibility as his grandmother. Besides, I know him the best as well as what he's capable of. You'll need my help."

Naruto looked at Chiyo and nodded his head in understanding. "We'll be glad to have you, Ma'am. We could use all the help we can get."

Kakashi nodded in agreement with that statement. "You can offer a unique insight to what Sasori is capable of. So if you can help us, then you're more than welcome to come along, just as Naruto said."

After talking with Chiyo and Kankuro and getting what information they could from them, the group of three left the room, allowing Kankuro to finally get some rest. They had to wait a while for Sakura, but when she returned, she had six vials full of antidote. "This is the most I could get with what little time we have. If I had more time, I could make more, but this will have to do."

Kakashi sighed, but nodded in understanding. "It'll have to do. Come on team, let's go. We need to hurry before they extract the Ichibi from Gaara."

As they left the hospital, they heard Temari shout at them to wait. "Wait! Let me go with you! I need to help my brother."

Kakashi shook his head. "No. You need to stay here and rally the troops. We might need some help. We don't truly know what might be waiting for us. So gather your troops and follow when you can. Do you understand me?"

Temari looked about to protest, but Chiyo shook her head and said, "Do as he says, lass. We've got this handled. Just do what you have to do here. You're in charge for now."

The blonde woman sighed, but nodded her head in understanding. "Of course. Just be careful, all of you. And please, save my brother."

Naruto grinned at her and said, "We've got this. Just leave it all to us." And with that, the quartet left Suna in search of the Akatsuki. Once they had reached the area where the tracks were, Kakashi summoned Pakkun and showed him the piece of cloth, allowing him to get the scent.

Once they were on their way, Kakashi summoned another ninken and gave it a message to give to Tsunade-sama about where they were going. _We're coming Gaara. Just hang in there._

_**Konoha - Hokage's Office**_

"No! Don't do that!" Tsunade shouted as Ichiro and Yuri were now taking the trash out of her wastebasket and tossing it on the floor. Once they had emptied its contents, Yuri began to chew on the side of the wastebasket while Ichiro began playing with the trash, namely the crumpled up pieces of paper.

Earlier, Ichiro had attempted to climb the wall, only to fall backwards and have a giggle fit. Yuri, on the other hand, had taken some of the papers on Tsunade's desk and started ripping them apart, giggling all the while. All in all, they were driving Tsunade insane.

When Shizune entered her office, Tsunade looked at her pleadingly. "Please take these two to get some food or something. They're making a mess of my office and I still need to figure out who to send as backup for Team Kakashi."

Shizune sweatdropped and nodded slowly. "Okay, Tsunade-sama. Good luck." she said before taking Ichiro and Yuri's hands and guiding them out of the office. When she noticed that Yuri was currently nibbling on a crumpled up piece of paper, she took it out of her hand and said, "You can't eat that Yuri-chan. Try to behave, okay?"

Yuri giggled and nodded her head. "Okay! I hungry."

Ichiro nodded repeatedly and said, "Food! Food!"

Giggling a bit, Shizune said, "Of course. Let's go get you two something to eat."

Once they were gone, Tsunade banged her head on the desk lightly and thought, _They are _definitely_ Naruto's kids. Despite Sakura raising them these past two years, they're mischievous little devils._

It was at this point that Kakashi's ninken appeared in her office and set a letter down on her desk. Opening it, she read the information within and called for an Anbu to send a message to Team Guy and inform them of where they were to meet Kakashi at. They were the closest team to where Team Kakashi was going, so she hoped they'd be able to help.

_I just hope they don't run into too much resistance. Naruto's going to be _pissed_ if Gaara's lost his life before they could arrive…_

_**Team Kakashi**_

The party of four had entered the Land of Rivers a short while ago. However, now they had stopped. Someone was standing ahead of them on the path. Itachi Uchiha had apparently been lying in wait for them, and it looked as if they'd have to defeat him if they wanted to continue on their way.

They were each making sure to look at his feet, as they weren't putting it past him to be able to use his hands to capture them in a nasty genjutsu. Closing his eyes, Naruto clenched and unclenched his fists. "Guys, I want you to go on ahead."

Sakura looked at her fiance in shock. "What?! No, Naru-kun! I'm not leaving you to fight him on your own!"

Naruto shook his head. "If we want to get there in time to save Gaara, you're going to need to go on without me. Besides, I can handle this, trust me. After all my training with the Toads, there's no way I'll lose to someone like Itachi."

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask, but slowly nodded his head. "Sakura, go on ahead with Chiyo-san. I'll stay here and help Naruto with Itachi."

Sakura frowned at this and gave one last look at Naruto before nodding slowly. "Please be safe sweetheart." she said before quickly rushing off with Chiyo, following after Pakkun.

"You sound a bit cocky, Naruto-kun. Do you really believe you can defeat me by yourself?" Itachi questioned curiously.

"Oh, I know I can. But I'd rather not fight if we don't have to, Itachi. So can I ask you to please just let us pass?"

Itachi quirked a brow at this and chuckled softly. "I fully expected you to just outright attack me. You seem far calmer now than the Naruto that I remember. I suppose I _could_ let you pass, but I am _quite_ curious to see how much you've improved. So show me what you're capable of, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "Very well, Itachi. If you want to fight, I'll fight." Closing his eyes, Naruto took hold of his sword and activated one of the seals on the blade, igniting it and covering the blade in blue flames. "Prepare yourself."

Itachi watched as Naruto pushed off of the ground and rushed him at a far faster speed than he expected. He narrowly dodged to the side, only for a kick to nail him in the stomach, causing him to reel backwards in pain. _Damn! He's a lot stronger than I expected._ Itachi thought as he continued his attempts to dodge Naruto's attacks.

Kakashi, meanwhile, was waiting for the perfect moment to attack. He was impressed with how well Naruto was faring against his opponent. The thing that most impressed him, however, was the fact that Naruto was fighting Itachi with his eyes closed. This meant that he had to be using his other heightened senses in order to determine where his opponent was.

Naruto smirked to himself as he felt an opening appear in Itachi's guard. Quickly slipping in close, he slashed across Itachi's stomach as he slipped behind him. When the top half of Itachi's body began to slide off, Naruto slowly opened his eyes, glancing over his shoulder as the upper half of Itachi's body hit the ground. After a brief moment, Itachi's lower half dropped to the ground in a crumpled heap. "Next time, I'd like to see the _real_ Itachi rather than some special clone."

Kakashi was initially confused by what Naruto meant, but when he looked at what was previously Itachi's body, he saw what appeared to be a ninja from Sunagakure. Frowning at this, he realized that this was probably the spy that had helped Deidara and Sasori get in and out of the village. After a brief moment, however, he realized something that caused his eye to widen in surprise. _I didn't need to join in the fight. Naruto really did handle it on his own!_

Naruto sighed and motioned for Kakashi to follow him. "C'mon Kakashi-sensei, we should hurry. Can't just leave Sakura-chan and Chiyo-san to fight Sasori and Deidara on their own."

The stunned Jonin nodded slowly and hurried after his student. _You've become far stronger than I ever expected, Naruto-kun. With skills like these and your increased intellect and planning skills, you should _definitely_ be promoted to the rank of Chunin at the very least. I'll definitely recommend it when we return to Konoha._

A short while later, Naruto and Kakashi caught up with Sakura and Chiyo, who were standing on top of the water, staring at a rather large boulder that was currently sealing the cave beyond. At first, they were confused about why they hadn't just smashed the boulder to pieces and entered, but they soon spotted the seal tag higher up on the boulder.

As Naruto hopped up and began to study the seal, Team Guy appeared, looking a little worse for wear. "What happened to you guys?" Kakashi questioned.

"We encountered Kisame Hoshigaki." Neji explained. "It was a rough fight. Let's leave it at that."

Nodding his head in understanding, Kakashi watched as Naruto pulled out a blank seal tag and began to draw a seal of some kind. When he slapped it on the seal on the boulder, he watched as Naruto activated the seal, causing both seal tags to burn into ashes that glided through the air as they fell to the water below their feet.

Hopping down, Naruto nodded to Sakura who quickly rushed forward, punching the boulder and shattering it with her monstrous strength. When they got a look at what was taking place inside the cavern, they saw that the Akatsuki had nearly completed the extraction process. So, without hesitating, Naruto dashed inside and targeted the nearest Akatsuki member that was actually within the cavern: Sasori.

Not wanting to let his puppet body be destroyed, Sasori cancelled his technique and dodged Naruto's attack. Meanwhile, Team Guy had attacked Deidara, further disrupting the 'ceremony'.

Looking at the statue, Naruto realized that he'd have to do something about it before the other Akatsuki members completed the extraction process. So, quickly drawing another couple of seals, he slapped one on Gaara's head and activated it, reversing the flow of the extraction process and allowing the Ichibi to be drawn back into Gaara little by little. A short moment later, Naruto leapt onto the statue and slapped the other seal tag on its head.

Leaping back down to the ground, Naruto activated the seal, watching as a large explosion occurred, blocking everyone's view of the statue. It didn't help that the explosion blew a hole in the ceiling, causing rubble to fall into the cavern, nearly crushing Deidara.

When the smoke cleared, everyone saw that the statue had been damaged, quickening the process of returning the Ichibi to Gaara. Looking at the various Akatsuki silhouettes, he exclaimed, "I don't care how hard you try, I'm going to make damn sure my fellow jinchuriki are safe from your machinations! I refuse to let them die by your hands!"

One of the silhouettes narrowed his rippled eyes at Naruto and said, "You will be made to regret this, Naruto Uzumaki." A moment later, he and the other silhouettes vanished, leaving Deidara and Sasori to try and fend off their foes.

Deidara narrowed his eyes as he looked at their opponents. Glancing at Sasori for a moment, he said, "This is looking bad, partner. Any plans running through that head of yours?"

Sasori shot a quick glare at Deidara and nodded slowly. "Divide and conquer. Perhaps take a hostage?"

The mad bomber of Iwa chanced a glance at Gaara's unconscious form and smirked to himself as he used his clay to make a rather large bird. Hopping on its head, he guided the bird towards Gaara, planning to take him hostage. However, his bird suddenly lost its head and began to explode with Deidara still on top of it. Wincing in anticipation after realizing he wouldn't be able to escape it, the blonde closed his eyes and awaited the sweet embrace of death as he realized he likely wouldn't survive.

Slipping his sword back into its sheath, Naruto watched calmly as Deidara was caught in his own explosion. He continued to watch, even as parts of Deidara fell to the ground. Shaking his head, he soon turned his attention to Sasori and said, "And then there was one."

Sasori scowled beneath his veil and began to fire a large volley of poisoned senbon towards his opponents. While Neji protected his team with his Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, Kakashi quickly flew through hand seals before raising a large earthen barrier to protect his team.

What Sasori didn't expect was for Sakura to suddenly descend on him from above. When he attempted to impale her with his tail, Naruto was there to block his attack with his sword. When Sasori attempted to escape, Naruto grinned and watched as four Shadow Clones appeared around Sasori and pinned him in place.

Naruto watched as his wife-to-be used her herculean strength to shatter Sasori's Hiruko puppet, forcing him to abandon the puppet body he had hidden himself in for all this time. Once he landed, he glared at the couple, not at all happy about what had just transpired. "You will pay for that." Sasori said angrily.

Chiyo stepped forward and glared at her grandson. "Sasori, stop this. You used to be such a nice boy."

The redhead looked towards his grandmother and shook his head. Without saying a word, he summoned forth one of his favorite puppets: the Third Kazekage.

Seeing this, Chiyo's eyes widened and she shouted, "The Third Kazekage! So you were the one responsible for his disappearance! How could you do this, Sasori?!" Again, Sasori refused to say a word. Instead he sent a wave of iron sand towards them, aiming to crush them all.

Seeing this, Kakashi quickly flashed through hand seals before bringing his hand to his mouth. He sent out a huge wave of fire that pushed back against the iron sand, halting it in its tracks. As he did this, Naruto nodded to Lee and Guy, signaling that they should attack.

Quickly removing their weights, the two of them used their enhanced speed and strength to break through. Appearing on either side of the Third Kazekage puppet, they aimed to destroy it with simultaneous kicks. However, seeing that his puppet was in danger, Sasori aimed to pull it back. However, Neji appeared by them and severed the chakra strings, allowing the two taijutsu specialists to destroy the puppet.

Now that he was without a puppet, Sasori glared at his enemies and began to attack them with everything in his arsenal, forcing them to dodge and find cover wherever they could. Thankfully, the explosion that consumed Deidara had pretty much shattered the ceiling and allowed numerous pieces of rubble to drop to the ground, leaving the teams plenty of places to hide and take cover.

Naruto scowled as he chanced a glance towards Sasori from behind his cover. _That thing in his chest...I bet that if I took that out, he'd stop moving. Question is, how do I get close enough to do so?_

Figuring he might as well go with an old classic, he summoned a small army of Shadow Clones and sent them after Sasori. When the redhead saw this, he realized that he didn't have much choice and used a technique to summon forth an army of 100 puppets. Using them, Sasori was able to quickly eliminate a majority of the clones, though a small handful managed to slip past his puppets and into his guard.

Sasori quickly leapt back away from them and pulled a number of his puppets back to fight and eliminate the clones. However, what he didn't expect was for Naruto to appear behind him, thrusting his sword towards his heart. Realizing that he couldn't dodge it completely, Sasori moved just enough so that the sword would pierce his side instead. Sadly for him, he didn't expect for Naruto to activate the wind seal on his weapon enhancing its cutting power. With one quick movement, Naruto severed the top half of Sasori's body from the bottom half.

Refusing to let this stop him, Sasori quickly pulled himself back together and continued to have his puppets attack not just Naruto, but the others as well. Unfortunately for the good guys, Lee was struck by a poisoned weapon. Meanwhile, Kakashi and Chiyo were working together to destroy as many puppets as they could, Chiyo using her 10 puppets to do as much damage as she could. Guy was currently looking over Lee, guarding him from any further attacks. Neji continued to sever the chakra strings where he could, rendering a number of puppets useless to the man.

Sakura quickly joined her hubby-to-be and nodded at him, signifying to him that she was there to fight by his side. The two of them dashed at Sasori, Naruto once more aiming to pierce his heart. Or so Sasori thought, at least.

Naruto quickly ran in front of his fiance, blocking her from Sasori's view. Quickly calling forth a couple of clones, he reached Sasori and, instead of trying to pierce him through the heart, he aimed for Sasori's eyes. Blinking in shock at this, the puppet master attempted to dodge, only for his eyes to widen as he saw Sakura's fist nearing his heart. When he attempted to leap out of the way, he looked down and realized that the Shadow Clones had him pinned. Realizing that his end was coming, Sasori closed his eyes and sighed softly as Sakura shattered his heart.

As his life slowly began to leave him, Sasori looked at the happy couple and chuckled weakly. "You beat me. As a reward, allow me to tell you s-something. I...have a spy in O-Orochimaru's employ. I was going to meet him at the Tenchi Bridge in Kusagakure, seven days from now. I know your village wants to get Sasuke back, so...you...might as well…"

Sasori fell quiet at this point as the last bit of life left him. Frowning, Sakura looked into her lover's eyes and asked, "What do you want to do, sweetheart? Should we go? I'm really not interested in seeing Sasuke again, but this could be a good chance to deal with Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke all at once."

Naruto frowned as well and said, "I'm not sure what I want to do. Part of me wants to go and make the bastard pay for shoving a couple of Chidori's through my chest. The other part just wants to spend some time with my family. Still, if we can deal a blow to Orochimaru, I'm all for it."

Sakura nodded in agreement at that plan, but before she could say anything, Kakashi walked up and placed a hand on both their heads. "You two fought well together. Very well done. And I heard what he said at the end. If Sasori's spy is going to be at Tenchi Bridge in seven days, we'd best prepare ourselves."

Sakura took this moment to quickly go over to Lee and give him some of the antidote she had made. Once he had drank it, Tenten shouted out, "He's waking up!"

Everyone quickly hurried over to Gaara's side and watched as his eyes slowly fluttered open. Looking around at everyone, he was a bit surprised to see that he wasn't dead. Sitting up slowly, allowing Sakura to support him, he looked at Naruto with a smile. "You came to save me…"

"Of course I did, Gaara. You're my best friend and I love you like a brother. I couldn't just let you die." Naruto said, smiling happily at his friend.

Gaara nodded slowly in understanding before he looked around at the mess the cavern had become. "How am I still alive? I thought surely that they must have extracted the Ichibi from me…"

Kakashi patted Naruto on the shoulder and said, "We slowed the process down by attacking your captors. Naruto here did the majority of the work. He managed to reverse the extraction process, sealing the Ichibi back within you, and he damaged their statue as well. And don't worry about Deidara and Sasori, we killed them. If the Akatsuki wants you still, they'll have to send somebody else."

Gaara looked into Naruto's eyes and said, "You're stronger now than you were before. I can't tell how much you've improved, but I can tell you're far stronger than you used to be."

Naruto nodded before he pulled out his sealing kit and smiling at his friend. "Gaara, I'm going to make some adjustments to that seal of yours. From what I understand about it, it's a shoddy piece of fuinjutsu, so I'm going to fix it for you. It should help."

The Kazekage nodded slowly and allowed Naruto to get a good look at his seal. Gaara soon felt an inkbrush touching his skin around the seal, and continued to sit perfectly still as Naruto went to work.

When Naruto was finished, he activated the seal and watched as Gaara's seal was repaired and improved. Blinking, Gaara realized that he couldn't hear the Ichibi's voice anymore. No more taunting, no more anger, it was perfectly calm. Looking into his friend's eyes, Gaara asked a single question. "Does this mean I can sleep now without worry?"

The whiskered blonde nodded with a grin on his face. "Yep! No more craziness. You're going to be just fine. I also added in a few failsafes of sorts. They should make it much harder to extract the Ichibi from you. If they get you again and they try to remove it, there's a nasty surprise in store for them, trust me."

The redhead smiled at his friend and said, "Thank you, Naruto. Not only did you save my life, but you've given me something I haven't felt before: a sense of peace. It feels...nice."

Naruto helped his friend up and grinned at him. "No problem buddy. Now, your family and your people are waiting for you. Let's get you back home."

Everyone nodded in agreement at that, more than eager to get out of here and back to safety. As they exited the cavern, Guy stepped up close to Kakashi and said, "I can tell that young Naruto-kun has become even more youthful over these past three years. He is so much more powerful than he was before. And he's smarter now too. Is this Jiraiya-sama's handiwork, by any chance?"

Kakashi glanced at his friend for a moment before looking forward again. "No. Jiraiya-sama didn't take Naruto's training seriously and even referred to him as a bad student. He trained with the Toads and studied fuinjutsu as well. I don't know the full extent of just what he's capable of, but from what I've seen so far, he's a force to be reckoned with. I think now that he's a father, he's only going to get stronger and stronger until nobody can stand against him. After all, he has to be strong enough to protect them from anything and everything that threatens to harm them. It helps that he has Sakura with him. The two of them are going to make a truly deadly team." Guy nodded in understanding, but didn't say a word in response. Instead, he slowed his pace and rejoined his team, walking at their pace now.

Naruto was happily chatting away with not only Gaara, but his fiance as well. The three of them were quite happy that things had calmed down enough that they could enjoy the simple things like this. After a while, however, when they entered a clearing, they saw a small army of Suna shinobi headed their way.

Walking up to them, Naruto gave Gaara a gentle pat on the back and watched as he stepped forward to greet his people. When two girls glomped onto him, happy to see him alive and well, Naruto couldn't help but quirk a brow. "So, he's got two girls fawning over him, eh? How interesting." he said with a chuckle.

Sakura giggled and nodded her head in agreement. "It's kind of cute in a way. But don't you go getting any ideas, Buster."

Naruto looked at his fiance with a raised brow. "I'm not interested in anybody else, Sakura-chan. Even if other girls like me, I just want to be with you. Okay?"

The pinkette smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I know, Naru-kun. I just wanted to make absolutely sure. I love you."

Holding her close, Naruto kissed the top of her head and said, "I love you too, my sweet, adorable Sakura-chan. Heh, I can't wait to get home to our kids. I wonder if they're behaving for Tsunade-sama?"

Sakura giggled at this and shook her head. "Probably not. Our children tend to take after you when it comes to causing chaos. Poor shishou was practically pulling her hair out the last time I asked her to babysit."

Naruto chuckled somewhat nervously at this news. "I had hoped they wouldn't inherit that kind of thing from me. We're going to have to raise them right and instill in them the need to behave for people rather than cause problems. I know they're still young and everything, but…"

The green-eyed girl giggled at this and shook her head. "They just enjoy causing mischief whenever they can. We'll raise them right, sweetheart. For now, let's just get Gaara back to Suna and get some rest. I'm beat after fighting against those two."

Naruto nodded in agreement with that sentiment. "Some rest sounds lovely indeed. I'm looking forward to cuddling with you and getting some sleep once we've checked in at a hotel."

Before Sakura could say anything, Temari walked up to them and bowed at the waist for a time before standing straight again. "Thank you so much for rescuing my baby brother. I don't know what I would have done had I lost him. He says you even fixed his seal for him. If there's anything I can do to repay you, please don't hesitate to let me know."

Naruto chuckled bashfully as he rubbed the back of his head somewhat nervously. "You don't have to do anything, Temari. I'm just glad we could help. Though, I would like to get back to Suna so we can get some rest."

Temari offered the both of them a sincere smile and said, "Then I'll arrange for you two to receive the best room in our village's best hotel. I'm sure you'll love it."

"Thanks Temari." Sakura said before giving the blonde a hug. "I'm glad we got to your brother in time."

"Me too, Sakura. Thank you both so much for everything you've done." And with that being said, they began making the return trek to Sunagakure. Teams Kakashi and Guy were exhausted and were definitely looking forward to some much needed rest.

* * *

**A/N - And that's the chapter! As you can see, I did things differently as compared to keeping it to canon. For one, Gaara didn't die and get revived. They got there in time to stop the process and even reverse it. The five point seal thingy was negated through some simple fuinjutsu stuff and Deidara and Sasori are both dead.**

**Anywho, I'm rather tired as I've been up all dang night. So I'll just end this here. I have no idea what I'll work on next, so just be on the lookout for whatever, really.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N - Okay, first I'd like to say that this chapter is a bit shorter than my usual chapter length. However, I figured that the end of the chapter was a good place to cut the chapter off at. Sooo...yeah.**

**Anyways, I'm exhausted. Pretty sure I have a sinus infection, which sucks. I've been feeling miserable all day. Runny nose, my nose is red and puffy, hurts like hell too. I'm running a fever and I have a horrible migraine on top of all that. It hasn't been a fun day AT ALL. So if the quality of this chapter isn't very good, I apologize. I did the best I could with it, despite being rather sick.**

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Sasuke**

"I'm surprised there weren't any noise complaints last night." Kakashi said, clearly amused as he looked at his teammates.

Naruto and Sakura both glared at him. "That's because all we did was _cuddle_ you dummy. We don't have to do _that_ every time we share a bed." Sakura said irritably.

Kakashi chuckled and raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I was only joking. I wasn't trying to offend."

Naruto sighed and said, "I know. Just…" Shaking his head, he chuckled a bit and looked at his fiance. "You know what? Let's go out and enjoy some breakfast somewhere, just the two of us."

Sakura smiled brightly at this and nodded her head in agreement. "Let's! I'm starving."

Kakashi simply smiled to himself as he watched the happy couple leave on what he considered to be an impromptu date. _What a happy couple._

Guy walked up beside his rival and smiled at what he saw. "The Flames of Youth burn brightly in young Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan, indeed! I have never seen them so happy as they are together."

Kakashi eye-smiled and nodded in agreement. "I'm happy for them. Despite everything the two of them have been through, they've managed to start a new life together. The two of them will fight with everything they have to keep each other and their children safe. It will only make them stronger and stronger as time goes by."

Neji stepped up beside Guy with a smirk on his face. "I think they'll be just fine. Having a family will only push Naruto to fight that much harder. He truly has something to fight for now, and with that knowledge, he won't die. Whether it's the Akatsuki or Orochimaru, Naruto will not lose."

The others in the group nodded in agreement with that sentiment. After a moment, however, Kakashi decided to bring something up. "Speaking of Orochimaru, you remember what Sasori said, right?" Seeing the others nod, he continued. "This is our chance to deal with Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke all at once. I know they originally intended to bring Sasuke back, but I can't help but wonder what they'll choose to do when they see him again. If Sasuke attempts to kill Naruto, Sakura may just kill Sasuke, damn what the councils say."

Tenten scoffed at this and said, "Screw the councils. They're a bunch of corrupt bastards that only think about themselves and how to line their own pockets. You know it as well as I do. I mean, look at what they tried to do while Naruto was away from the village!"

Neji scowled and nodded his head. "Yes, I remember. They tried to have him labeled as a missing nin with a kill on sight order. They also wanted to 'deal with' their children. Yes, Tsunade-sama dealt with them and their bullshit, but you know as well as I do that they haven't given up. If they have their way, Naruto will be dead and his children will join him. They don't want the 'demon spawn' to plague their village, after all."

Guy shook his head in disappointment and said, "It's a shame that the Flames of Youth no longer burn within a great portion of the villagers and the councils. The past Hokages would be ashamed of what has become of their village and its people. If only there was some way to rekindle their inner fire…"

Kakashi shook his head and said, "I'm afraid something truly big would need to happen for them to change their ways. As it stands, Naruto and his family will need to be careful in their own village. It's a damn shame."

_**Later that day**_

"Are you sure you can't stay longer? You're a hero to these people." Temari asked as she looked at Naruto and Sakura.

Naruto smiled at her and said, "I'm afraid we need to return to Konoha and prepare to meet with Sasori's spy. Hopefully we can deal a blow to Orochimaru somehow. Personally, I'm looking forward to paying Sasuke back for trying to kill me years ago."

Sakura gently squeezed her fiance's hand and said, "You won't be doing it alone. I want to punish him for daring to hurt you like that. He betrayed the village, betrayed _us_. He needs to pay for what he's done."

Temari smiled at the two of them, actually feeling somewhat envious of the love the two shared. _It's too bad. Naruto's quite the catch._

Sakura immediately understood what Temari was thinking and quickly clung onto her lover's arm in a possessive manner. "You know Temari, if you really wanted, you could be with Shikamaru. You two would be good together." she said, trying to ward off the fan-wielder.

The blonde sighed and shook her head. "Maybe. To be honest, it feels like you've taken the best guy out there. A lot of girls aside from myself are bound to be jealous of you."

Naruto blushed at this and shook his head. "I doubt that. I'm not really as great as you're making it sound. I'm lucky Sakura actually likes me. I didn't think anyone did."

Temari, Sakura, and the other Konoha ninja all sweatdropped at this and shook their heads in amusement. Sakura turned Naruto to face her and said, "Sweetheart, you don't seem to understand what a catch you are to most women. You're handsome, you're strong, you're really kind and sweet…" Sighing softly, she said, "There's already a few people I can tell you right now that feel that way about you."

Naruto blinked a couple of times before something registered with him. "Well, I already know about Hinata having feelings for me. But who else could there be?"

Kakashi simply giggled perversely behind him, but didn't say anything. Instead, Sakura sighed and kissed Naruto's cheek. "You're cute, but you can be kind of dense sometimes, Naruto-kun. Remember all those women you've saved before? Koyuki Kazahana cares about you a great deal, more than I'd like to admit. I can't remember the others off the top of my head, but you are definitely popular with women outside of Konoha. As for inside Konoha? You have a few, erm..._fangirls_. Don't ask me how that got started, but it's happened and they really like you. They wanted to sneak into your apartment while you were gone and take some stuff that belongs to you. Don't ask me why."

When Kakashi began giggling again, Naruto sighed and created a shadow clone that bonked him over the head. "That's...kind of disturbing to think about. Fangirls? For _me_? Can't say I ever expected something like that. As for the others, I don't really care. I only have eyes for you."

Sakura blushed and fidgeted slightly before she leaned in and kissed him sweetly on the lips. Afterwards, she rested her head on his shoulder and smiled happily as she basked in his presence. "I love you sweetheart."

"I love you too, Sakura-chan." Naruto said before looking at his friends. Sighing, he turned to Gaara and extended his hand to shake his. "I'm glad you're okay, Gaara. If you ever need help again, don't hesitate to call on us. You're my best friend, and you're my brother in all but blood."

Gaara smiled at his friend and shook his hand. "Of course. And if you ever need anything from us, do not hesitate to call. I'll send someone over to help right away, you have my word."

"Thanks, Gaara." he said before hugging his friend. Turning to face his team and his companions, he said, "Let's go everybody! I want to get home and spend some time with my kids."

Kakashi chuckled a bit before saying, "He's right everybody. Let's get a move on!" And with that, they began their trek back to Konohagakure.

Once they were gone, Gaara released a sigh and said, "The Akatsuki are not going to take the loss of two of their own well. Naruto has painted an even larger target on his back. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to capture him again soon."

Kankuro shrugged and simply patted his brother on the shoulder. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. Naruto can take 'em."

His siblings nodded in agreement with that assessment. No matter what, Naruto would not lose to anyone that threatened him or his family.

_**The next day - Konohagakure**_

Naruto chuckled as he looked around Tsunade's office. It was something of a mess and Tsunade appeared to be drinking heavily. When she noticed them, she shot upright in her chair and shouted out, "Oh praise you Kami! You two, do something about your kids! They've been driving me up the wall!"

Sakura giggled at that before nudging her fiance. "They take after you, sweetheart."

"That's not a good thing." Tsunade griped. "One Naruto is more than enough. We don't need those two growing up to be troublemakers."

Naruto and Sakura both shot her a fierce glare at that. "Shishou, please refrain from saying such bad things about our children. They're still young. They have plenty of time to grow out of this phase. And besides that, you act as if Naruto-kun's some horrible trickster or something. Yes, he teases you sometimes, but you know that he respects you and many others here in the village. Sure, he pulled pranks in the past, but he's calmed down a lot. I don't appreciate you saying such things about my family."

Tsunade felt a cold chill shoot down her spine and nodded quickly in understanding. "R-Right...sorry. I didn't really mean anything by it."

Naruto sighed and said, "I know. But they're our children. I promise you that we'll raise them right and teach them not to behave like that. But right now, they're young and curious. When we're away on missions, there's a good chance they'll get up to some mischief. We'll do what we can to get them out of that habit, but…"

Before anyone else could say anything, Kakashi stepped forward and said, "Hokage-sama, we have some news to report. As I'm sure you already know, we managed to save Gaara before the Ichibi could be extracted from him. Naruto and Sakura performed exceptionally well and showed great teamwork in our battle against Sasori and Deidara. Naruto also proved that his years away were most definitely _not_ wasted. He defeated Itachi's clone by himself without any need for me to intervene somehow. He also disabled a seal used by the Akatsuki to protect their base. Finally, he fixed Gaara's seal and even damaged the statue the Akatsuki were using to try and store the bijuu. All-in-all, I'd say the mission was a huge success."

Tsunade's eyes widened slightly before she smiled at her protege and her brother figure. "I see. I'm glad to hear that. Your training has paid off well, it seems."

Naruto smiled back for a moment before he adopted a serious expression. "There's more, Hokage-sama. As Sasori lay dying, he informed us that he was to meet a spy in Orochimaru's employ in a week's time. This is our opportunity to get information on Orochimaru and Sasuke and perhaps even deal a crippling blow to the Snake Sannin. And, if need be, we can end Sasuke so he can't hurt anyone else like he did me. He's unstable and is a danger to everyone around him."

The Fifth Hokage frowned before nodding in agreement. "You're right, Naruto-kun. Very well. Team Kakashi, I'm leaving this mission to you. I think I'll assign a fourth member to your team for this mission. For now, you're all dismissed." Looking at the happy couple at this point, Tsunade said, "Your children are with Shizune at Ramen Ichiraku. Go see them and take them off of her hands. Why they behave so well for her is beyond me."

Naruto and Sakura both nodded before leaving her office and made their way to Ramen Ichiraku. Once they were gone, Tsunade looked at Kakashi and asked, "Do you believe Naruto has shown the skill and mindset required of a Chunin?"

Kakashi quirked a brow and said, "Hokage-sama, I think he's proven he's worthy of the rank of jonin. He's much calmer now than he used to be and he thinks things through in battle rather than blindly rushing in. His mind seems to work at the pace of a Nara and he has the power to take down S-rank ninjas. Personally, I think his parents would be beyond proud of him. But, in answer to your question, yes, Naruto is ready for the rank of chunin."

Tsunade smirked at this and said, "Jonin, hm? He's really that much better now?" Seeing Kakashi nod, she couldn't help but chuckle softly. "For now, I'll give him the rank of chunin. Later, if he continues to prove himself, I'll gladly promote him to the rank of jonin. Thank you for your input, Kakashi."

"Anytime Hokage-sama." Kakashi said with an eye-smile. "If you don't mind my asking, who did you plan to add to our team?"

"It's someone you're familiar with. Code name: Tenzo. I believe I'll give him a new code name for the duration of his stay on your team. Yamato is what he'll be called. Do you think your other teammates will get along with him well enough?"

Kakashi eye-smiled again and said, "There won't be a problem. I think they'll get along pretty well. I'm actually looking forward to working with him again."

"Good." Tsunade said. "We'll give them a few days to spend time with their children. Afterwards, you'll set out on your mission. I want your team to end Orochimaru if possible. But more importantly, I want your team to either bring Sasuke Uchiha back so he can be put on trial to determine his fate. If he resists, you have my permission to end his life as well. I don't want a threat to Konoha to continue existing. Is this understood?"

Giving her a serious look, Kakashi nodded once in understanding. "As you wish, Hokage-sama. I have a feeling that Sasuke will put up a fight, and I'm more than willing to put him down if that's what it takes." Shaking his head, Kakashi let out a chuckle. "I actually kind of pity him. Naruto and Sakura are going to _destroy_ him. Knowing Sakura, as soon as she sees Sasuke, she's going to beat the snot out of him for what he did to Naruto."

Tsunade chuckled as well and said, "If he wasn't such a dick, I'd pity him. He deserves whatever those two do to him. I just wish I could see it."

_**Naruto & Sakura**_

Naruto blinked as he stared at the number of bowls stacked in front of his children. "They...eat more than I do. Holy crap."

Sakura looked at Shizune with a disapproving stare. "Shizune...why are you doing this? You should know better than to spoil them like this."

The ravenette chuckled nervously and said, "They were begging for it and I kind of caved. Sorry Sakura-chan."

Naruto looked at her and asked, "They used the 'look', didn't they?"

Shizune sighed and nodded her head. "Yes. They know how to use their cuteness as a weapon. And in case you were wondering, they've both beaten your record for most bowls of ramen eaten."

"I can see that. Normally I'd be a bit upset, but seeing as it's my children, I'm actually fine with it. Still, they shouldn't eat so much ramen. They need a balanced diet if they want to grow up big and strong like their parents."

Sakura giggled somewhat nervously and said, "As I told you before, they enjoy ramen here, but I didn't think Ichiro would eat this many bowls. Normally he has about 4 or 5, not this many. He must have really been hungry this time."

Shizune sighed and nodded her head. "Yes. I'm surprised as well, but you could literally hear his stomach growling. I just couldn't say no to them."

"That's okay Shizune-nee. I'm glad to see they both love this place as much as I do. I think it's okay to spoil them like this every once in a while." Naruto said with a happy smile on his face.

Yuri turned around to face her father and stretched her arms out to him. "Dada! You back!"

Ichiro looked at them and said, "Mama! Up! Up!"

Naruto chuckled and picked Yuri up, hugging her snug against his chest. "Hello my cute wittle girl. Have you been good for Granny Tsunade and Auntie Shizune?"

Sakura smirked as she held her son close. "You've been naughty, haven't you?"

Ichiro and Yuri both shook their heads no. "Nuh-uh! We good!"

"Yeah, yeah! We no bad!" Yuri exclaimed.

Naruto smirked at his little girl and rubbed his nose against hers. "My wittle girl. You're just too darn cute for your own good. But you nearly drove Granny insane. Try to be good for her next time she babysits for you, okay?"

Yuri pouted at her father and her eyes began to water. Seeing this, Naruto quickly tried to assuage her. "Sweetie, don't cry! Granny Tsunade's just overreacting, that's all."

Yuri stopped with her crocodile tears and looked at Ichiro, giving him a peace sign with her fingers. Seeing this, Naruto wasn't sure how to feel. His eyes widened and he looked at Sakura, absolutely flabbergasted at what had just happened.

Shizune giggled and said, "And now you have been on the receiving end of her cuteness attack. You'd best get used to it soon, because she and Ichiro _will_ do that to you if you try to scold them."

Sakura sighed and looked at her lover. "You're going to need to be stern with them and teach them properly, otherwise they're going to walk all over you. I know it can be hard, but I'm sure you can do it, sweetheart."

Naruto sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "This parenting thing is going to be harder than I thought." he said. "Ah well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'll strive to be the best darn father and husband I can be!"

Yuri smiled brightly at her father and nodded, though she wasn't quite sure what he was saying. "Yay Dada! Yay yay yay!"

Ichiro grinned and said, "Play! Let play!"

Sakura sighed and shook her head. "I suppose that might help you to work off all the excess energy you two have. Very well, why don't we play hide and seek, hm?"

"Yay! Play play! We hide Mama! Dada look!"

Naruto smirked and booped his daughter's nose lightly. "Okay then. You, Ichiro-kun, and Mommy will go hide. I'll look for you after counting to 20, okay?"

"Okay! Hurry Mama!" Yuri exclaimed as Naruto put her down. Grinning at her family, she soon took off to hide somewhere in the surrounding area.

Ichiro nodded and ran off as well, excited to be playing a game with his father for the first time ever.

Meanwhile, Sakura smiled at her husband and said, "I'll keep close to them, just in case." Afterwards, she ran off to go and hide as well.

Shizune simply smiled as Naruto closed his eyes and counted to 20. _It's nice to see him having fun like this. He needs this._

After counting to 20, Naruto grinned and began his search for his family. He knew that if he wanted to, he could easily sense them, but he wanted to give them a chance. However, when he heard drunken shouting and the words 'demon spawn', his eyes narrowed angrily. Moving quickly, he appeared in an alley, glaring at the drunk man harassing his son. "I don't appreciate you treating my son like that. Apologize. NOW!"

Ichiro ran to his father, tears streaming down his cheeks as he clung onto his father's leg. "Dada! Bad man there!"

The drunk glared at Naruto before pointing at Ichiro. "Yous should n-never…" Belching, the man wobbled a bit on his feet as he glared at Naruto. "Never be allowed to breed. Th-They're demon spawn! Yoush ebil!"

Creating a shadow clone to deal with the drunk, Naruto lifted Ichiro onto his shoulder before leaving the alley, listening with a sinister smile as the drunk screamed out in pure agony at the beating he was receiving. "You okay Ichiro-kun?"

"Yeah Dada. Me okay. Thank you."

"Good. Wipe those tears, son. Let's find Mommy and Yuri-chan. Ready?"

Ichiro nodded and smiled at his father as he went off in search of his sister and mom. Reaching up, he wiped away his tears and smiled a big smile for his father.

_**Later**_

Naruto looked into his fiance's eyes seriously. "Sweetheart, do the villagers often act that way towards our children?" he questioned, a deep frown on his face.

The pinkette frowned and looked down, nodding her head once. "I'm sad to say that they do. I'm sorry."

Hugging his love close, he kissed her lips tenderly before shaking his head. "Don't apologize for them. You've done a great job raising our children on your own, despite the village's hatred towards our family. I'm just sorry you three had to deal with it for so long without me around. I love you three so much. What do you say we go home and relax for a while?"

Sakura nodded and walked with her future husband and their children towards their home. However, as they walked, they ended up bumping into Ino, who was a bit shocked to see the four of them. "Naruto? Sakura? And little Ichiro-kun and Yuri-chan! What are you all up to?"

Naruto offered Ino a smile and said, "It's good to see you again, Ino. I heard from Sakura-chan that you've babysat our kids before. Thank you for doing that. I greatly appreciate it."

Ino smiled at him and said, "It's really no problem Naruto. I'm happy to watch after them. They've been real sweethearts with me. They don't misbehave, unlike when they're with Tsunade-sama. I think they just enjoy tormenting her." Giggling a bit, she looked Naruto over appraisingly before smirking at Sakura. "He's turned out well. If you weren't with him, I'd gladly snag him as my own."

As her husband-to-be blushed deeply, Sakura smiled at her best friend and said, "He's a real catch, isn't he? I'm glad to be with him. He really makes me feel special."

The beautiful blonde smiled and nodded her head in understanding. "I'm happy for you Sakura. Might want to watch out though. Never know when another girl will try to steal him from you."

Sakura sighed and shook her head. "Yeah, tell me about it. I'm worried about what Hinata will try to do to win him over. She's still pissed at me."

Ino shrugged and said, "Meh, don't worry about her. Naruto's yours and yours alone. If she can't accept that, then oh well. I doubt she'll take things too far."

"If you say so. Thanks Ino."

Naruto smiled at Ino and said, "It was nice catching up with you Ino, but we need to get back home. Ichiro-kun and Yuri-chan are tired and need to be put to bed. I'd also like to spend some time alone with Sakura-chan."

Ino smirked at him before saying, "Oh, I bet. I can only imagine the kind of 'quality time' you two share when you're alone." Looking him over from head to toe, she said, "Kind of makes me envious, imagining what the two of you get up to."

Blushing, Naruto simply nodded before walking off with his son and daughter walking beside him, the two of them holding his hands. Once she was alone with Sakura, Ino giggled a bit and said, "Have fun, Sakura. I'd love to hear some details sometime."

Sakura blushed deeply before quickly running off to catch up to her future hubby. _Ino, you are such a pervert!_

_**Two days later**_

That night, Naruto and Sakura had made love again after putting their children to bed. They were so hot for each other and couldn't resist going at it again and again. Sakura was frustrated though when she realized that she couldn't afford to get pregnant again, not now that the Akatsuki were on the move. So, she had made sure to use a contraceptive technique to ensure she couldn't get pregnant. She wanted to give Ichiro and Yuri some younger siblings, but unfortunately, that would have to wait.

Now they were on the way to Kusagakure, where they would set up a trap on the Tenchi Bridge to ensnare Sasori's spy and potentially get at Orochimaru himself. As they walked, they eyed their new teammate with an appraising eye. After a while of silence, Sakura looked at him and asked, "Yamato-san? What kinds of things can you do?"

Yamato looked at Sakura and then at Naruto and said, "I can use the Mokuton kekkei genkai. Don't ask me how, because I don't feel like answering that particular question just yet. I'm skilled in Water and Earth Release techniques as well. Aside from that, I can use my Mokuton abilities to ensnare enemies, preventing them from either running away or attacking. As for why I was put on your team? Part of it is to help rein Naruto in, just in case he uses too much of the Kyuubi's chakra and loses control." Looking them in the eyes, he said, "I don't see any point in lying to you, as we are teammates now. I trust Naruto to know when and where to use the Kyuubi's chakra, if he ever chooses to. I have heard nothing but good things about him though, so I don't foresee any problems occuring."

Naruto frowned at this and shook his head. "I decided before that I won't use the Kyuubi's chakra if I can help it. I'd rather not rely on it, as I feel my own skillset is enough to see me through any battle. I trained with the toads and I've learned quite a bit about fuinjutsu as well. I'm confident in my own abilities, and therefore I likely won't need to rely on Kyuubi's chakra."

Sakura smiled at her lover before turning to face Yamato. "He'll be just fine. I understand the precaution, and I won't fault you for it, but I want you to have faith in my hubby-to-be."

Yamato simply smiled at them and nodded his head in understanding. "Of course. I was not trying to imply that I didn't trust him. I was only trying to explain my purpose on this team."

Kakashi looked at them for a moment before saying, "Enough of that kind of talk. Why don't we take a break at that resort up ahead? We still have plenty of time before we arrive in Kusagakure, so relaxing in the hot springs up ahead should be just fine. It might make for a nice experience, as well."

Naruto and Sakura smiled and said, "Alright! That sounds like a good plan to me!"

Kakashi and Yamato simply chuckled at their exuberance. _Ah, to be young and somewhat innocent._ Kakashi thought with an eye-smile.

_**Hot springs**_

Sakura pouted as she wasn't allowed to join her fiance in the hot springs. If they were alone, she'd _definitely_ sneak into the men's section so she could 'play' with her lover. Just thinking about it was making her horny! She couldn't help but wonder if her future husband was feeling the same kind of frustration she was. _Oh Naru-kun, I wish we could enjoy this time together. Damn it!_

Seeing as she was alone in the female side of the hot springs, she closed her eyes and began to massage one of her breasts while her other hand slid downwards until she was running a few fingers up and down her slit. _Naru-kun…_

Meanwhile, on the men's side, Naruto was resting with his eyes closed, enjoying the sensation of the warm water enveloping him in its embrace. _Ahhh, this feels so good. I really needed this. I just wish I could be with Sakura-chan…_

Looking towards the wall that separated the two sides, he frowned to himself. _I wonder how Sakura-chan's doing? Kami I wish I could be with her right now. I can only imagine what it would be like to make love in a public setting like this. The danger of possibly being discovered making love in the hot spring would be totally worth it._ He thought with a pervy grin on his face.

Kakashi smirked as he saw this. _I swear, these two are just too damn horny for each other. I hope they're using some form of protection so she doesn't end up pregnant again. If she wants to fight beside him, she can't afford to get pregnant._

Yamato sighed and said, "They really can't help it, can they? They seem to want to be together in any capacity whenever they get the chance. Can they keep it together for this mission?"

Kakashi smiled at his companion and said, "No worries. And they're still in their teens. Hormones are running rampant for them right now, so it's only natural that they'd be horny for each other. No need to worry though, they know how to focus on a mission."

"Good to hear. Now, let's relax for a while and set out again in the morning." Yamato said before leaning back and basking in the warmth of the hot spring.

_**Tenchi Bridge - Days later**_

Naruto and Sakura stared across the bridge at the apparent 'spy' that had shown up. Things started out simple enough. Yamato mimicking Sasori, the spy talking with the disguised Yamato, simple things like that. Then the spy was revealed to be Kabuto Yakushi, and Orochimaru showed up a little while later, taunting Yamato.

Seeing their comrade in trouble, Team Kakashi leapt out and prepared for combat. When Orochimaru saw Naruto, he smirked and licked his lips with his long, snake-like tongue. "Naruto-kun, it's been far, far too long. I heard my old teammate trained you for some time. What I see doesn't impress me. I'm willing to bet that Sasuke-kun has far surpassed you in these three, long years."

Naruto simply smirked and said, "I'm sure you'll be surprised then, when I kick your ass and kill Sasuke. I wonder, did you spend more time training him, or fucking him? After all, you two make the perfect match. A couple of butt buddies, if you will. I'm willing to guess that he was the bottom, am I right? After all, he has the word 'uke' in his name. Makes it kind of obvious which side he'd play for."

Kabuto glared at Naruto and said, "Don't insult Orochimaru-sama in such a way!"

Naruto quirked a brow at Kabuto before turning back towards Orochimaru, casually shrugging Kabuto's comment off. "Kabuto really hasn't improved any, has he, Orochimaru? I can sense how pathetic he is from here. Poor, poor Kabuto, always doomed to be a petty little weakling."

Unable to take it anymore, Kabuto charged Naruto with his Chakra Scalpel technique activated in both hands. Before Naruto could react, Sakura appeared behind Kabuto and landed a powerful punch to the back of his head. When he went flying off the bridge, she cracked her knuckles and said venomously, "Nobody threatens my Naru!"

Orochimaru blinked a couple of times as he watched Kabuto fall to his death at the bottom of the canyon. Looking back at Sakura, he asked, "_Your_ Naru? If I'm not mistaken, weren't you Sasuke's little fangirl?"

Sakura scoffed as she turned to face Orochimaru. "In the past? Sure. But I realized how I truly felt about him and Naru-kun. I'm happy with my honey."

The Snake Sannin frowned at this before looking at Naruto again. "That doesn't really matter in the long run, does it Naruto-kun? The point still stands that you are _nothing_ compared to Sasuke."

Naruto sighed and shook his head in mild disbelief. "Sasuke this, Sasuke that. You're just like the idiot villagers, pampering him and making him believe he's better than he is. Sasuke is, and always has been, a pathetic weakling. If I hadn't held back at the Valley of the End, I would have won and killed that pathetic piece of shit. I was trying to keep a promise made to someone very precious to me and decided against killing him back then."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at this bit of information. Rather than say anything, however, he looked at Sakura and grinned sadistically. Raising his arms, he unleashed a wave of snakes towards her, thinking she'd be an easy target.

Turning, Naruto swung his arm, sending a wave of wind sickles flying towards the snakes, severing their heads from their bodies before they could reach his fiance. Looking back at Orochimaru, he narrowed his eyes and said, "I suggest you focus on me, Snake-teme. Unless, of course, you're actually _afraid_ of me? I couldn't exactly blame you for your fear though, considering Sasori and Deidara were such easy targets."

The Snake Sannin's eyes widened slightly at that information before nodding his head in understanding. "I see. You've grown more than I thought, Naruto-kun. Very well, if you want a fight, you've got one!" he said before pulling out the Kusanagi and charging towards Naruto.

Naruto took his sword in hand and activated a couple of its seals. One seal covered the blade with wind chakra, while the other strengthened his blade to the point that it could withstand all of Orochimaru's blows. Blocking Orochimaru's thrust, he slipped around behind the Snake Sannin and left a deep gash in his side before flourishing his blade and smirking at him. "Sword techniques are not your specialty, Orochimaru. You rely too much on the special properties of your sword, rather than focusing on bettering your skills. Meanwhile, I've been trained in a number of things, including sword techniques. You simply don't stand a chance."

Orochimaru scowled as he turned to face Naruto and quickly blocked his sword with the Kusanagi. Making several quick jabs, he quickly became frustrated as Naruto blocked every attack. What made things worse is the fact that Naruto's sword was leaving several gashes on the Kusanagi, a supposedly indestructible blade. _This can't be happening!_ He thought angrily.

"Awww, is big bad Owochimaru afwaid of wittle old me?" Naruto asked mockingly. "You really should try something else. Then again, it's not like I'll give you the opportunity to fight back."

Orochimaru quickly blocked more attacks, only to wince a couple of times when Naruto slipped past his guard and pierced his body in numerous places. Quickly leaping away, he regurgitated a new body and attempted to escape, only for Sakura to appear in front of him and slame a fist into his face, sending him crashing to the ground just past the bridge.

Standing up again, Orochimaru rubbed his face and glared at the pinkette. _That felt like one of Tsunade's punches! Dammit! I need to escape!_

As he went to escape underground, he found that he was unable to do so. Looking down, he saw that a couple of sealing tags were slapped on his legs. "No!" Orochimaru exclaimed. _My chakra! I can't feel my chakra!_

Before the Snake Sannin knew what hit him, he felt something pierce him through the chest. Coughing up blood, he tried hard to escape in a new body, but found that he couldn't even do that. Looking down at the fist protruding from his chest, he realized Kakashi had hit him with a Lightning Cutter attack. Realizing that he was about to die, he began to laugh. "To think...death would find me...here. N-Naruto-kun...I knew you were...something special…"

Hearing the compliment from Orochimaru, Naruto sighed and slipped his sword away. "I appreciate that, Orochimaru. Tell us, where can we find Sasuke? I'd like to pay him back for what he did three years ago."

Orochimaru coughed up more blood before chuckling softly. Pointing off in a seemingly random direction, he said, "T-That way...it's hidden behind a boulder...Sasuke is there…"

"Thank you." Naruto said as he watched the last bit of life leave Orochimaru's eyes. Reaching out, he closed the Sannin's eyes and laid him down on the ground so he could rest in peace. However, after some thought, he removed the Sannin's head and sealed it away so he could turn it in for the bounty on his head later.

Kakashi wiped the blood off of his arm and smiled at Naruto and Sakura. "Very well done, you two. We've just removed a powerful threat to yourselves and Konoha in general. Now, what say we go and pay Sasuke a visit? I'm sure he'll _love_ to know that his master is dead."

Naruto chuckled and said, "Oh, he's going to love seeing us again. I fully expect him to put up a fight. If he does, I think we'll enjoy tearing him apart."

Yamato looked at Orochimaru's dead body and thought, _Kakashi wasn't kidding when he said they were incredible. I'm surprised they could pull something like this off so easily. No matter how much stronger Sasuke has become, I have the feeling that these two won't let him off easy. It will be no challenge for them, of that I'm sure._

_**Secret Hideout**_

Naruto and Sakura smirked as they saw the boulder blocking entrance into the hideout. Yamato was about to suggest a stealthy approach into the hideout, but Sakura beat him to the punch as she easily shattered the boulder with her super strength. Sighing softly, he shook his head and said, "Well, if that doesn't alert him to our presence, I don't know what will."

Kakashi simply chuckled and said, "Trust me, Sasuke isn't the type to flee from a potential fight. If he's still as arrogant as he was in the past, then he'll wait for us. His arrogance will be his undoing."

Yamato shrugged and nodded his head in understanding. "Very well. Let's get in there and deal with him. What do you think we should do though? Take him alive, or end him here and now?"

Kakashi shrugged and said, "That's entirely dependent on him. If he tries to kill us, we're within our rights to end his life. Otherwise, we try to take him alive. I highly doubt he'll make this easy for us, though. I'm willing to bet that we'll have to kill him, and I won't lose a wink of sleep over it."

Yamato found himself nodding in agreement with that assessment. "The villagers might be upset, but they'll get over it if they know what's good for them. Sasuke made his choice and now it's time that he pay the consequences for it."

The team of four descended into the hideout and proceeded forward. When the path split, Naruto and Sakura went in one direction while Kakashi and Yamato went down another. After some time, Naruto and Sakura entered a fairly open room and saw Sasuke waiting for them with that same arrogant smirk on his face that they were oh so familiar with. "So, the fangirl and the dobe come to see me. It's been a while."

Sakura glared fiercely into his eyes and said, "I hope you're ready to die, Sasuke. You hurt my Naru-kun before, and it's time to make you pay for it!"

The Uchiha quirked a brow and looked between the two of them. "You two are a couple now? Hn, not like it matters. Though, that does make this easier for me." he said with a sadistic grin before he moved quickly behind Sakura, his sword poised to pierce her through the heart.

Naruto, upon seeing Sasuke move, grabbed his sword and snapped it in two with his strength. "I don't take kindly to you threatening my fiance." he said before slamming a fist into Sasuke's face, sending him reeling backwards.

"Fuck!" Sasuke cursed as he clutched his face in agony. _The hell?! Since when was the dobe this strong?!_

Sakura turned and smirked at the Uchiha. Before he could react, she slipped into his guard and landed a fierce punch to his chest, sending him crashing into the wall and screaming out in agony as he easily felt a couple of broken ribs. What made it worse for him is that he knew one of them had pierced his lung. Spitting up some blood, he wheezed for a moment before he quickly formed a Chidori and prepared to charge them. Unfortunately for him, Naruto moved faster than his Sharingan could follow and proceeded to slam a Rasengan into his gut, causing him to spit up even more blood as he felt his body being shredded by the sheer power behind his technique.

Sakura decided to end the fight by appearing in front of Sasuke and slamming her fist so hard into his face that pieces of bone shattered and pierced his brain. A short while later, he ceased breathing and collapsed in a heap on the floor. Glaring down at his corpse, Sakura said, "_That_ was for hurting my Naru-kun!"

Naruto looked at his healing hand before turning his gaze on Sasuke's corpse. "Heh, good riddance. I doubt the people of Konoha will be happy that their precious little Uchiha is dead, but who the hell cares? I say we drag his carcass through Konoha for all to see. He's paid the price for his crimes, and I don't feel the slightest bit of pity for him."

When Kakashi and Yamato reached the room they were in, they looked at Sasuke's dead body. Shaking his head in mild amusement, Kakashi asked, "Did you even _try_ to take him alive?"

Sakura scoffed at this and said, "What? And let the people of Konoha pardon him for his crimes? You know as well as I do that they would've simply given him a slap on the wrist and accepted him back with open arms. No, we gave him exactly what he deserved."

Kakashi sighed, but nodded his head in agreement. "I agree with you. I'm actually kind of curious to see how they'll react when they learn of Sasuke's death. Should be amusing, to say the least."

Naruto sealed Sasuke's body up in a storage scroll of his own design before looking at his teammates. "So, what do we do now? Explore the hideout for anything useful? Or do you want to start heading back to Konoha? I'm eager to get back home to my kids, to be honest with you."

Kakashi chuckled softly and said, "We'll make a note of where this hideout is located so another team can check it out later. Right now, I'd say we deserve to take it easy. We'll begin our trek back to Konoha. I know you'd like to see your children soon, so we'll try to be quick about getting back. And team?" Seeing he had their attention, he gave them an eye-smile before saying, "Good job."

Naruto and Sakura both smiled at that and nodded their heads in thanks. And with that, the team of four left Orochimaru's hideout and began making their way back towards Konohagakure. If Naruto and Sakura knew what their next mission entailed and what would happen on said mission, it would be guaranteed that the pinkette would throw a fit. Oh, how fun their next mission would be...

* * *

**A/N - And that's the chapter! Hopefully you enjoyed it. If not, then oh well. *shrugs***

**I actually debated on if I should include a lemon in this chapter or not, but I decided against it. I think the chapter was just fine without it.**

**As you can see, a lot happened in this chapter, including the deaths of Orochimaru and Sasuke, and the presumed death of Kabuto. And if you're curious about what the next mission will be, it should be familiar to all those who saw the first Naruto Shippuden movie. Sakura and Shion are not going to get along, I can assure you of that now. lol**

**Anyways, I'm feeling really ill, so I need to try and get some rest. I dunno what I'll work on next.**


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